Sunday Edition Local Content Policy March 28, 2021 must protect Guyanese NEWS from being used as “window Guyana’s largest selling Price $140 daily & New York’s most dressing” by foreign players popular weekly
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AIETEUR
Online: www.kaieteurnews.com
- they must be meaningful partners in oil sector - GCCI Senior VP
Online readership yesterday, 120,185
The people have a right to question gas-to-shore project - Jagdeo’s ‘no-brainer’ comment is arrogant and insulting - Ram
More needs to be done ExxonMobil seeks on education and training to give its local for oil sector- US Analyst reputation a facelift
Not a single post-Cabinet press briefing held in eight months of new government President. Ali GFC strengthens $590 million says budget to be legal provisions asphalt plant to adjusted to cater for timber sales operationalize …to bolster certification requirements on April 6 for COVID vaccines for EU exports - Minister Bharrat
Police and Army to ‘aggressively enforce’ COVID restrictions during Phagwah celebrations countrywide Please don’t miss the week in review of The Glenn Lall Show today @11am, 4pm and 7pm on Kaieteur Radio! 99.1 and 99.5
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Palm Sunday an opportunity for review and renewal For many, today is just an ordinary day. For many more, it is a special day graced with extraordinary sacredness, an unfathomable pull of rare force that comes from way above our heads and takes up residence deep within ourselves, through the indefinable that makes us think along certain lines, walk a certain road, and live a certain outstanding kind of life. It is Palm Sunday and Phagwah being observed and hailed in Guyana today, and today we speak of Palm Sunday and its importance, with the festival of Phagwah reserved for tomorrow. Two thousand years ago, a humble figure set out on a journey in an unknown, backwater place in the vast Roman Empire. He was a humble man, who did strange things to those who came into contact with him: he touched them and moved them to be different and live a different way of life. He touched them so much that they were willing to give up their very lives because of the profound spirit he instilled in them. When he was gone from this earthly pale, many of them were called upon to take a stand for what they believed in as taught by and exemplified by this same man. Then, they stood up in faithful and fearless belief, even when it meant that they would have to pay the harshest price for their devoted stance. That is, with their very lives. The man himself was a nobody, a mere poor carpenter’s son. But set out on his fateful journey he did on that Palm Sunday with one objective in mind: to give up himself willingly and self-sacrificingly in the face of whatever was to come. And it was sure to come, as was prophesied and it was his destiny. It was sure to come also because of the known cruelties of the Roman occupation forces, which had inserted overpowering fears wherever they were present; and because of the deep abiding hatred he incurred from the so-called men of God in his time. But forward he went, because for him there was no other way, and this was regardless of what lay ahead. He was a leader who led by example; he was a man who never asked his followers, those who believed in him, to do anything that he would not do, that he did not do himself. Because he was that way all the time and all the way, people followed him even unto death. Now, this is the kind of leaders we need in this country called Guyana, but which we are yet to find. If only we could get one - one leader - who represented in the fullness of his impeccable essence, all that is humble, truthful and trustworthy, then we would be better as individuals, as a people, as a society. If only we could get near to one leader of the substances that spoke to credibility, sincerity and honesty, then we would have a different way of life that flourishes in this country, in all of its teeming urban locales, and its far rustic villages. But we don’t; not one of them, which not a single one of us would be so reckless and so senseless to step forward and claim that we do. On the other hand, and this is what should register with those who believe and those who don’t also. The man from Galilee came out of a nowhere place, called and embraced as his companions, those who were dismissed as nobodies, and from nothing with those nobodies as his messengers and instruments remade the world then and in which we live today. It was started way before Palm Sunday, but the unwavering direction taken and what was journeyed towards came to its climax with the start that was embarked upon on that long ago Sabbath. He changed the world: speak to truth and the same truth will set you free. We wish that our leaders and their people when they read this will get some flash of light, some spirit moving them, which tells them that they are not speaking to truth. They do not speak anything of truth, but what is the opposite of it on most occasions and on most issues that come before them, including the large and small; but especially the large, because it makes for big money all too easily gained. That man taught the world something that still resonates today, and has huge application in this society. He warned that the love of money is the root of all evil. When we at this
The best of laws, constitutions or reforms will mean very little unless our leaders are morally erect DEAR EDITOR, Over the past few months, articles and editorials, particularly in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News, have dealt with the daunting questions of electoral reform with expectations that our racial divide and political polarisation can be solved by adjustments legal and otherwise of electoral system. They all expect that this will bring us into the arms of what we have been tutored over the years to be
democracy. Last Sunday, 21st of March, Kaieteur News had an excellent Editorial. The analysis was in order, however, not surprisingly, there was an element of skepticism. A skepticism, shared by many of us, even as the named Leader of the Opposition has written to the new Chairman of CARICOM seeking CARICOM’s mediation to address the present Government-
publication examine at length (and we have done so for many long years and decades now) the countless evils that prosper in this land of ours, we have no choice but to come to the sorry conclusion that, that carpenter’s son had it right all along. The things that are of Palm Sunday and Holy Week, with their majestic ascendancy on Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Opposition impasse. Earlier, the question of electoral reform was raised. Here, I repeat my position, which I took some time ago, that the mere tinkering of the Constitution and Electoral Laws in isolation to the wider problem is unlikely to achieve our hopes for a united Good and Glorious Guyana. Of course, we have had the recommendation of a wag who suggested that we hold elections and that under a more sophisticated form of
proportional representation that the Cabinet should consist of members based on the quantity of votes obtained by each contesting party. I told my friends that will create an even greater difficulty when it comes to identifying portfolios and the resources to be allocated and worst of all, it will produce a plethora of political aspirants. Last Saturday on a popular call-in programme, (Continued on page 5)
point to and speak of a different kind of singular leadership. It is what we need here, and desperately. It is what we don’t have and this in spite of (or because of) the many trials and errors that always seem somehow to bring us the same result: the tragic figures of corrupt flesh clothing still more corrupt minds. We must not give up hope, we must find a way to overcome, and we will!
Sunday March 28, 2021
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Kaieteur News
...The best of laws, constitutions or reforms will mean very little From page 4 Channel 6 – Voice of the People, one caller confidently said the answer was to put an Indo-Guyanese to head the PNC and an Afro-Guyanese to head the PPP. I said to him that would be “cosmetic,” and would fail to address the nature of our polarisation and our history. I failed to convince him. The two major and some may say, contending ethnic groups in Guyana, came out of interesting experiences. The Africans came out of a well-entrenched tribal system, and the IndoGuyanese, out of a caste system. Few academics, philosophers and teachers have taken the trouble to analyse the lingering effects of attitudes and responses many generations later. Deep attitudes, beliefs and responses linger on in the subconscious for many, many generations. But we can deal with that at another time. For now, CARICOM and the ABC countries, the EU and those who really wish to help us must come to grips with the deeper issues and foster programmes to educate the masses and leaders at all levels. We must boldly teach and explain this question of identity. This itself takes us over the first hurdle in our quest to make a reality of our oft-time repeated slogan of being One People. Our media with capable operatives need to play an important role in this process. This teaching will allow all of our people to appreciate the essence of what I call cultural values. Values which should produce Guyanese and their leaders who value the essential elements of goodness identified in our responses and theology.
When CARIFESTA was created in 1972, the first cultural presentation in the Caribbean, it was intended to harmonise and not only put on display music, poetry, dance and themes of all segments of Guyanese and the wider Caribbean culture. Unfortunately, since the 1972 CARIFESTA effort, some see it only as an opportunity to showcase the talent of individuals and groups and have missed the bigger objective of harmonising the various strands existing in our societies. Like the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, this understanding of our various beliefs, would wash the shores of Jamaica and Cuba right through to the Republic of Guyana. Unfortunately, in Guyana and the region, democracy as practised in Guyana and elsewhere simply translates the various forms of majoritarian rule, even where the governing Party does not represent a majority, in the true sense of the word. Majority must not merely be the question of mathematics and percentages 51 percent is translated to mean 100 percent governance. In the words of Landor, democracy is always the work of Kings. Ashes, which in themselves are sterile, fertilise the land they are cast upon.
These words crossed my mind when I re-read Sunday’s Kaieteur News Editorial. The reform we need, the change we need, must first occur in the minds of all of our Leaders, I repeat, all of our Leaders, so that for each one of them fairness, justice and the words found as the second of the 10 Commandments – ‘Love thy Neighbours as thyself” is manifest. Not pious pronouncement but action, not fine words but deeds. All else is an exercise of futility and the consuming of precious time that can be better utilised teaching the people the difference between right and wrong, between excellence and mediocrity and the value of compassion. Our energies in support of
the above moral repair should also urge our business community in the commercial and manufacturing sectors instead of being partisan in political and national issues to give substance to an earlier wellarticulated programme to Feed, Clothe and House (FCH) the nation, so that our farmers would produce all our vegetables, grains, ground provision and fruits need for a healthy living and to help feed the Caribbean and beyond. Let us realise a fading dream of being the Bread Basket of the Region. The above constitutes a massive but necessary initiative by all of our political figures, religious leaders and business icons, but I believe, if we are serious or as the old story says, “Who is to bell the cat?”
I hope that this letter and others I have read will stimulate concerned citizens and patriots to get out of their cocoon of silence and history will not find them guilty of the sin of silence at a time when good Guyanese restrict the expression of their concerns to intimate gatherings. I contend that the best of laws, constitutions or reforms will
mean very little unless the men and women who are placed at the helm are morally erect, then this thing called Democracy, Decency and Justice for all will not be realised. Let me make it clear that I am not suggesting a society without laws as this would lead to anarchy. Hamilton Green
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Two hymns making the rounds DEAR EDITOR, Guyanese are tricky folks, but are quick learners. This is true of both rank-and-file citizen, slick and believed sophisticated political headmen, and their high-level sycophants. The slickness prevalent everywhere is evidenced in two hymns that saturate environment and atmosphere; both convey how smart we are, or how much we think we are. I note that, though Holy Week is pending, with Good Friday and Easter the high points, the two hymns have
nothing to do with righteousness; rather, they furnish remarkable examples of the deviousness that is at work in this land, even in hallowed times. The great majority of regular Guyanese - think small and other businesspeople, the private and public sectors, and from the man in the street to the cognoscenti (what passes for it) - have perfected the singing of a hymn that serves to fit all purposes, all events, and all situations. It goes like this: it is COVID, or is de pandemic, or from the simple of heart: is de virus. This is the plaster for every running sore and chronic shortcoming that bedevil this troubled land. It is used for lateness; the blanket to cover a world of illnesses; the reason for poor service, laziness, or incompetence; sometimes all of those; in some instances, for drunkenness and lawlessness. Thus far, I have not heard the COVID-19 virus employed as a shield for last year ’s long interval of elections madness, any actual mental disconnect, a rationale for giving or demanding or accepting a bribe; or the on and off amnesia of ‘I do not recall’ when in a squeeze. Thank God for little blessings. But those are the lyrics set to the ethereal music about COVID, which is hymn number 19 in the Guyanese songbook. The second hymn comes
from the political people in government, which stretches from the president over to the entire cabinet of ministers (let’s call them that), and then rippling outwards to senior officers in state agencies. No question has to be asked, no answers sought, but PPP leaders, PPP ministers, and PPP political appointees are all lined up in one pew and singing lustily from the same songbook with one voice. Whatever the circumstances, regardless of the trouble (large or small), and however more foolishness they may look and sound, the words from those political quarters are full and final: is de coalition. Is dem teef. Is dem responsible! It is a fact that the now opposition would need many enormous dumpsites to house the sum of its great misdeeds. But, I say that not everything could be rightly placed at its doorstep. Whatever happened to truth? And the Hon. Ministers of Education, Housing, and Public Works, ostensibly pious citizens all? They cannot pretend to be Pontius Pilate and not know truth. Thus, I identify flooding, sugar, and money laundering as the first examples. Guyanese know those and others were part of the PPP failed legacies during its 23-year rampage and pillage. Sing another song, folks; a truly holy one. Sincerely, GHK Lall
Govt. should regard elections reforms as one of its main priorities DEAR EDITOR, With the publication of the EU Election Observation Mission report, electoral issues and electoral reforms continue to rightly be in the public gaze. The vast majority of Guyanese believe in fair and trouble free elections. To help this to happen, the Government should regard elections reforms as one of its main priorities and waste no more time in allocating whatever resources are deemed necessary. Also, there should be no delay in putting the necessary steps in place, to get rid of this home-grown handicap. The Government continues to repeat its intention to engage everyone in Guyana and elsewhere to find solutions to the issues that keep holding Guyana
back from becoming the ‘One Guyana’, home of all its peoples. Unless all Guyanese become satisfied that elections will deliver the type of Government best suited to Guyana, and are free and fair, the post-election agony may never be brought to an end. In its outreach to all stakeholders, the Government must try and get the answers as to why many of us believe it is okay to support elections that do not truly reflect the will of the country. Whether the reasons to engage in rigging elections is perceived, orchestrated or based on fear of marginalisation, all effort must be made to find answers to get everyone to readily accept the election results. Sincerely, Muhammad Alli
T N U L B . . . T B N U T L N T B . U . L . L T B . N . U . N U T L N B . U . T . L N T U N B . N U . L U L LUNT. B . T . . T T N N B U B . U . L . L T B . B . . N . . . T U T L N N T U U L N L B U . B . . L . . . T B T . . N . N T U L N LU B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . NT LUNT...B NT...BLU N U L B . . B . U . . T L . N T B . . U N . L N T B U N . . L . U T L B . . N B . . . T U . L N T B U . . L . UN T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L B U UN .BLUNT. . . L . T B . . N . T U . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . LU ...BLUNT LUNT...B NT...BL T B U . . L N . T B BLU T...BLUN BLUNT... UNT...B . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B U . . L N . T B BBLU T...BLUN BLUNT... ...BLU . T . N . N T T U L U L N L B U T...BLU U B . L . N . B T . . . N T U N N N L U U U B L . L B T LUNT.. UNT...B BL B Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Like the ship stuck in the Suez Canal is causing billions of dollars in losses for many companies, traffic congestion on the East Bank of Demerara Public Road leading to Georgetown has become a never-ending plague to the lives of the poor and working people of Guyana. Five years in office and the APNU+AFC did not fix it. Let’s see if the PPP/C will stick to its guns.
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Local Content Policy must protect Guyanese from being used as “window dressing” by foreign players - they must be meaningful partners in oil sector - GCCI Senior VP By Kiana Wilburg
W
hile the draft Lo cal Content Policy contains provisions which encourage joint venture partnerships between citizens and foreign companies, it must ensure that there is adequate protection to prevent Guyanese from being “rented” or used as “window dressing.” This perspective was recently proffered by Senior Vice President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker. During his first appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s Programme, Guyana’s Oil and
You, Tucker was keen to note that the current draft is a vast improvement over the one that was promulgated by the former coalition regime. Be that as it may, Tucker said, the final policy must have a clearcut, foolproof definition of what qualifies as a local business. In his eyes, a foreign company should not be able to cheat the system by using the name of a Guyanese on registration documents, stating that the local has 51 percent ownership, and say they are now a local business, when in reality, the local partner is just there as “window dressing.” The Senior Vice President
said,”…We need to have a real test of locality. We do not want to have companies coming and rent a citizen. You would probably end up with people sitting back and because their name is there…Timothy Tucker Oil and I own 51%, it is really and truly that my agreement is that I have a retainer fee and 95% of the profits are going to a partner who only owns 49%...” He continued, “So we have got to make sure that the profits, the way that it is defined, that there is a term test of locality, that your local content and the Guyanese there, that the money is actually
Senior Vice President of GCCI, Timothy Tucker. staying here because that is the purpose of local content. It is to get that money to stay
here and it could develop the country.” Tucker added, “There are a few laws that need to be changed to help that situation and we have identified those to the government and I am sure the Chamber will release its official comments in the press release at some point in time.” Kaieteur News would have reported last week that several countries have sought to ensure that there are stiff penalties to guard against the kind of local content deceit Tucker noted by way of policies, laws and regulations. In Ghana, for example, the
legislative framework ensures that any foreigner who desires to set up shop and bid for contracts can only do so if they partner with locals. But for those who even contemplate effecting schemes to cheat the system, Ghana was keen to have clear-cut fines and jail time stipulated for such actions. The Local Content Regulations of that African nation state, for example, “A citizen who acts as a front or connives with a foreign citizen or company to deceive the Commission as representing an indigenous Ghanaian company to achieve the local (Continued on page 55)
Sunday March 28, 2021
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Kaieteur News
Dem boys seh...
Dat price ain’t right Dem boy watching closely wah going on with dis vaccination campaign. De government bin begging all around fuh vaccines. Dem get a donation of 20,000 doses from China and 80,000 from India. And Prezze bin talk how dem ask de United Arab Emirates fuh vaccines. Now dem boys reading how we buying vaccines at US$20 a dose from de UAE. Dem boys read how we paying US$4 fuh 200,000 doses. Dat works out to US$20 per dose or double de price wah dem other country paying
fuh de vaccine. So it look as if somebody mekking a huge profit pun we and dem boys getting suspicious. De African Union bin buy de same vaccine from Russia fuh US$9.75 per dose. Dem bin buy de AstraZeneca fuh US$3 per dose and US$6.75 fuh de Pfizer vaccine. De Johnson and Johnson vaccine is likely to sell fuh US$10 per shot – but dat is a single shot vaccine. So dem boys shock when dem read how Guyana paying US$20 per dose fuh vaccine wah selling fuh US$10
per dose. Dem boys wan know why we buying from middle man (UAE) and not from Russia itself. Dem boys know dat some of de possible side effects of de vaccine do mimic de side effects of de virus – fever, chills and headaches. Dem boys asking whether it does give ‘runnings’ too. Dem boys asking de government to provide mo details as to who dem paying fuh dis vaccine because de price is not right! Talk half and leff half for later!
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
President Ali says budget to be adjusted to cater for COVID vaccines
T
o cater for the 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, the Government of Guyana will be purchasing, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has said that adjustments will be made to this year’s budget. This was revealed in a report by the Department of Public Information (DPI), where it was stated that Ali made the comments on the sidelines of an event on Friday as he announced that 224,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be in Guyana by next Tuesday. Of the total number of doses set to arrive next week, 24,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive on Monday from the World Health Organization’s COVID -19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and the 200,000 doses of the Sputnik V Vaccine that the government is purchasing from Russina will arrive on Tuesday.
His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali It was stated that each dose of the vaccine costs $4,000, which gives an $800 million total. This year’s budget for COVID-19 vaccines is $750 million and since the cost for the vaccines being procured from Russia surpasses that amount, then there is a need for an adjustment in this year’s budget. Ali was quoted as saying, “Right now, we are finalising the logistics to bring that (Continued on page 55)
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Police and Army to ‘aggressively enforce’ COVID restrictions during Phagwah celebrations countrywide The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) has warned that the joint services, which include the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), will be aggressively enforcing the mandated COVID-19 measures countrywide as Phagwah/Holi is celebrated this year. In an advisory published by the NCTF, several restrictions were outlined to curb the spread of the virus and ensure that Guyanese safely celebrate the holiday. It was stated that “Phagwah events held at mandirs, including cultural programmes, chowtal saleman and satsang (service), are allowed at 40% capacity. Mandirs are encouraged to utilize their outdoor spaces, where available.” Further, it said that persons are encouraged to celebrate the holiday within their home circle and religious gatherings for the burning of
Holika are allowed, however, social distancing must be enforced and persons must adhere to the curfew. For any Phagwah activity, masks must be worn at all times, six feet social distancing must be maintained and there must be handwashing and sanitization. “Phagwah celebrations do not involve the consumption of alcohol. All non-religious activities Phagwah activities, inclusive of Chutney Shows, Phagwah and Limes, and Wet Fetes, are prohibited,” the NCTF maintained. Phagwah celebrations in public spaces, inclusive of creeks, lakes and resorts, are not allowed as well as large gatherings. Motorcades are also prohibited except for the movement of devotees to and from places of worship. The GPF and GDF have ramped up their enforcement of the guidelines recently and persons have also been charged once found to be in breach.
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
65 new COVID-19 infections added to case toll The Ministry of Health yesterday reported 65 new COVID-19 infections via its daily dashboard update which increases the case toll to 10,072.The dashboard also shows that 13 patients are in the COVID-19 Intensive Care
Unit, another 19 in institutional quarantine, 52 in institutional isolation and 992 in home isolation. Additionally, a total of 8,842 persons have recovered to date with 41 new recoveries recorded yesterday.
More needs to be done on education ... From page 2 example, say a country has 100,000 citizens, you can’t expect them to produce the same GDP as a country with one million citizens; it’s got to be respected with the resources on the ground.” Deakin had also stated that Guyana must establish local content laws that can evolve with the oil and gas industry. He was reminded of an article he wrote on Guyana’s local content, in which he stated that Guyana should ensure that whatever rules it is putting in place, that it does not find itself in a position where it is biting off more than it can chew: “That’s definitely an important aspect of Guyana’s oil development, this local content rule,” the analyst said, “I think that,
you know, what Guyana needs is something, a law that is constantly evolving in the sense that it has certain clauses that adjust according to the sector, the level of development in the sector.” In pointing to an example of where these evolving laws exist, Deakin referenced our neighbouring Brazil. To this he articulated that in the past with this South American giant, the original local content rules for its presalt oil production had disproportionate fines for non-compliance and even bottlenecks that hurt the construction of FPSOs. “So, if you don’t have local content that can’t adjust to the development of the sector, that you know, is sort of stuck in the past,” he added.
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
CCTV camera captures car bandits robbing woman
Screengrab from the video that depicted the robbery. A robbery of a woman in broad day light was captured on CCTV camera. The robbery reported took place on Tuesday at D’Edward Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), while the woman appeared to be awaiting transportation along the public road. Based on the video seen, a white Toyota 212 car pulled up beside her. It appeared as if
the occupants of the car asked her something to which she replied with a hand signal indicating no. The car began to drive off and then stopped after which the driver and two others then rushed out and attacked the woman, the driver grabbing her handbag. The woman (Continued on page 17 )
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Crime Chief Blanhum graduates with LLB degree Wendell Blanhum, Guyana’s Crime Chief has achieved a major success in his career after he graduated recently from the University of Guyana (UG) with a Bachelor’s of Law Degree (LLB). The Guyana Police Force (GPF) detailed that he passed with a distinction and congratulated on his most recent success. Blanhum is considered to be one of the most successful officers in the recent history of the GPF. Apart from his law degree, he holds a diploma and a degree in Public Management. Blanhum has also attained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Development Stud-
Congrats to CrimeChief, Wendell Blanhum. ies and a Commonwealth Masters in Public Administration.One of the major achievements he made, however, was in 2015 when he became the youngest officer in Guyana’ history to attain the position of Crime Chief.
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Local filmmaker opens casting call for new short film project
L
ocal writer/ film maker, Andre Wiltshire has opened a casting call for a new film project titled “Eating Pawpaw on the Seawalls.” According to Wiltshire, the short film which is supported by Commonwealth Caribbean Voices Project will feature a Guyanese interracial love story and is expected to be completed in July. Wiltshire told Kaieteur News that he always wanted to be a filmmaker and was fortunate to be selected by the Commonwealth from over 100 filmmakers who submitted their work. “The film is a love story between two childhood friends and was one of the most impressive scripts at the workshop. I was able to secure the maximum funds from the Com-
monwealth,” the writer disclosed. He said that he was not aware of the project until he produced and directed his third short film. Wiltshire had decided to produce 20 short films in 2020, but this was stalled at number three due to the pandemic. “This preparation allowed me an opportunity to submit my film during an ongoing pandemic,” he said. In his last film, Wiltshire addressed the difficulties of abortion using the “Ole Higue” folklore. He said, “I shot the film at my home and only had a budget ($10,000) for food. We used a single camera, bedsheets, curtains, black cloth and different colours of plastic to shape our light and
Local writer/ filmmaker, Andre Wiltshire.
A casting call for a new film project titled, “Eating Pawpaw on the Seawalls”.
CCTV camera captures car bandits... From page 14 managed to free herself and ran but the driver pursued her. As he caught up with her, she turned around and handed him an item which appeared to be a cellphone before sprinting away. The man attempted to
grab her after collecting the cellphone, but she escaped, following which he turned around and walked back speedily to the car and drove off. Police are currently on the lookout for the car and the bandits seen in the video footage.
create a mood for the film. It created an interesting aesthetic that the Commonwealth loved. I have not shown that film to the public as yet because I intend to use it in a film festival, which I am planning for the future to compensate my cast and crew.” During this time, Wiltshire was privileged to gain (Continued on page 62)
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Credit: JHI Associates
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Not a single post-Cabinet press briefing held in eight months of new government The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government has been in office for eight months, but has not held
a single post-Cabinet press briefing. Post-Cabinet briefings had occurred at the Ministry of the Presidency under
the David Granger administration, following Cabinet’s weekly meetings, wherein a senior official, usually then
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, substitute would inform the public about discussions at the level of Cabinet,
[from right] Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and President, Dr. Irfaan Ali
then take questions from journalists. This has not happened since the Irfaan Ali administration took office. The PPP/ C took over in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly changed the way the media and government should operate, restricting in-person meetings. However, with virtual meetings, the government cannot use the pandemic as an excuse. Government ministers and other officials have held virtual press conferences, typically to address specific issues. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had held few press conferences early last year at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. The frequency of those press conferences has diminished. The VP would typically address issues already discussed in the press, but would not give updates on Cabinet’s discussions. President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), Nazima Raghubir had on January 31 urged government to resume post-Cabinet press briefings and to have more
frequent engagements with the press, during her address at the President’s Annual Media Brunch. “I want to use this time to call for the return of the post-Cabinet press briefings which provided the country with that needed update on our internal affairs. We also want to encourage more frequent interaction with health officials, so we can raise awareness about the pandemic that continues to affect lives.” “The press briefings by yourself and key government ministers are just not about engaging the media,” Raghubir said. “It is about informing the public on critical issues.” In his address, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali had acknowledged the call by the GPA President for post-Cabinet briefings to resume. He explained that the government has been very busy, and that Cabinet has been meeting frequently, multiple times per week. He, however, committed to resuming the post-Cabinet briefings and to have more engagements with the press. Two months later, the briefings have not been resumed.
Motorcyclist killed after crashing into minibus
A
motorcyclist met his demise on Fri day last, following a horrific crash along the Prospect Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD). Dead is Calvin Pitt better known as “Brooklyn,” of Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown. According to police reports, Pitt crashed into a minibus around 15:30 hrs. and died hours later while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Investigators, who probed the crash, were told that Pitt was heading towards Georgetown along the western driving lane of the Prospect Public Road, when he slammed into the rear of a (Continued on page 63)
Killed after slamming into a minibus.
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Dear Reader, in light of the economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our publisher, with you in mind, has taken the decision to extend our weekly review of some of our major stories in their entirety. SUNDAY FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY OF GAS-TO-SHORE A “NO-BRAINER” – VP BHARRAT JAGDEO Financial Feasibility studies are considered crucial elements when one is considering entering into a large-scale business venture. A feasibility study examines how much start-up capital is needed, sources of capital returns on investment, and other financial considerations, while also examining how much cash is required, where it will come from, how it will be spent and potential obstacles that may impede its operations. Yet for Guyana’s intended gas-to-shore project, no such study is being conducted, as according to the Vice President (VP) and local oil boss, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, that element is a “no-brainer.” The VP made these comments and more on his most recent appearance on a virtual discussion on oil and gas contracts alongside Professors Paul Tennassee and Floyd Haynes on Globespan 24×7 on Wednesday evening. There, Dr. Jagdeo was asked to respond to concerns that the project may not be a good fit for Guyana. “The financial aspect is a no-brainer. Any sensible person with a modicum of sense, a tiny brain, even a residual brain, would understand that,” he said. Backing up his statements, Dr. Jagdeo, explained that, “If you are generating power at $12 or $13 per kilowatt hour with the current price of fossil fuel…if you can supply power at $7 or $8 per kilowatt hour, a mad man would make the decision to do so and that is what this opportunity offers…to cut the cost of generation by 50% from its current level.” “What else do you need,” he asked, adding, “If you can get power at half the price at which you are generating? That would allow us to cut the cost that you sell it at so it is a no-brainer. You just have to think it through for a couple of minutes.” Dr. Jagdeo mentioned as well that ExxonMobil had completed a Technical Feasibility Study back in 2016; further cementing Government’s position that
the project is financially feasible. Such a study assesses the details of how you intend to deliver a product or service to customers, as the gas-toshore project would utilize associated gas from ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase One project, which has been in operation since December 2019. Presently, ExxonMobil is the process of selecting suitable firms to conduct four studies before moving to the construction phase of the project. Those are an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a Lidar study, along with Geotechnical and Geophysical studies. The results of those studies are expected to inform the design of the pipeline. Government has already identified the former Wales Estate as the location for the onshore infrastructure with a crude estimation for the cost of the project standing between US$500-800 million depending on the design, pipeline size and surveys. SURINAME RAKES IN US$500M ANNUALLY FROM OIL SECTOR Guyana’s neighbour to the east, Suriname, is able to rake in US$500M annually from its lucrative oil sector. This achievement was not made by luck, but rather through robust policies and measures to ensure that the Surinamese government is in a position to reap significant benefits from the petroleum industry. Annand Jagesar, the acting Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Suriname’s national oil company, Staatsolie, had revealed these figures during his presentation to the Guyana Basin Summit (GSB). This was a virtual three-day oil and gas conference, aimed at delivering networking and valuable insight into the
region’s potential, along with its challenges and the road ahead. The summit concluded on Friday. Jagesar reminded the virtual audience that Staatsolie is a 40-year-old entity, which started producing oil from one of Suriname’s onshore block in 1982. He explained that after revenue collection grew, Staatsolie moved to build a 55 kilometre pipeline to transport the oil to a refinery. At this refinery, the oil is purified and turned into products like gasoline, diesel fuel and even kerosene. “We also use the heavy oil for power generations and recently we acquired the hydropower dam,” the acting CEO mentioned. Jagesar went on to add Suriname’s proven oil reserves hold about 90 million barrels of oil, which they expect will deplete in 15 years’ time if production is at six million barrels per year. “Our annual sales are about 5.6 million barrels per year,” the Oil Boss said, “and revenue is about US$500M.” N o t a b l y, d u r i n g t h e virtual January interview, former Staatsolie CEO, Rudolf Elias, was asked to provide some insight into the Surinamese experience in being a partner with oil companies that are interested in developing discoveries. He was quick to note that the benefits, particularly as it relates to monitoring costs to be incurred, provide a strong case for countries to have a seat at the table. To this he said, “It is critical to have a seat at the table because you get to have someone who is part of the project team and who will know first-hand what are the costs…and we know there is a transparent process they will go through because we are at the table. They can’t inflate because we
are there to see it and that is why I say Staatsolie should always have a seat at the table, because we want to know the costs of the different projects because it is the basis for the inflow the government will have.” Currently, Staatsolie has a 20% participation stake in oil deals. Elias had indicated that it once stood at 10%, but after Guyana stuck oil one after the other, Suriname was inclined to raise it to 20%. MONDAY GOLD DEALER EXECUTED IN FRONT OF CLUB WITH 15 BULLETS – SHOOTERS ESCAPE IN WAITING WHITE WAGON A well-known gold dealer was last evening executed in front of a popular night club in Georgetown. The dead man has been identified as, Ricardo Fagundes, call e d ‘ P a p e r Shorts’, an associate of Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan. This newspaper understands that Fagundes was like a brother to Khan and was even his driver. According to information reaching this newspaper, at around 22:30 hrs. Fagundes was at Palm Court located on Main Street, Georgetown, hanging out with some friends, when he received a phone call to go outside to meet someone. Kaieteur News understands that when Fagundes exited Palm Court, two unmasked men jumped out of a white, new model wagon and fired multiple gunshots in his direction. This newspaper understands that he was killed by 15 bullets. A d d i t i o n a l l y, p o l i c e sources last evening told this publication that Fagundes was indeed lured outside of the establishment where he was executed. Up to
press time, no arrest for a suspect in the execution-style killing has been made. PAYARALICENCE COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER BUT GOVT. WAS UNDER “ENORMOUS PRESSURE” – JAGDEO Guyana was warned by a host of oil experts and good governance advocates to not rush the approval of Payara, ExxonMobil’s third field development project in the Stabroek Block. Considering the fact that Guyana was handed a bad deal when it penned the Stabroek Block agreement with ExxonMobil, CNOOC/ NEXEN and Hess, experts had advised too that the Payara permit should be leveraged to acquire more favourable terms for the country. But these warnings fell on deaf ears and the project was given the green light in September 2020 by the newly installed People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/ C) Government for its intended 2024 start-up. In the weeks leading up to its approval, ExxonMobil’s Senior Vice President, Neil Chapman during the company’s second quarter earnings call had in simple terms issued an ultimatum to Government to – “grant us approval soon or risk value significant value loss.” He had said that, “what we continue to stress to the Government is that if the project does get delayed, it’s a loss of value to the country.” Now, months later, Vice President (VP) and local oil boss, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has publicly admitted that it was because of that very reason, Government forged ahead so quickly with Payara’s approval. The VP was at the time appearing on a GlobeSpan24x7 virtual discussion on oil and gas
contracts. He said, “You recall we had a really short period in which to really wet our feet in this regard. ExxonMobil had wanted it by August 18 and we got into office on August 2 and they said if we do not get it done by that time, we would lose the US$9 billion investment and we said no, no, hold on a minute, we have to do this right.” “We took a month and a half to make sure that we address the issues through a large amount of consultations. We also hired someone to review the work that was done and we strengthened the draft fundamentally that was before us. So we were under enormous pressure, nevertheless, we managed to improve the Payara license over the Liza fundamentally,” he continued. Alison Redford, the Former Alberta Premier was who Government had hired to review the Payara Field Development Plan (FDP). However, her involvement quickly led to questions about her credibility. Kaieteur News had reported that Redford had benefitted from thousands of dollars in donations made to her political party by an ExxonMobil subsidiary called Imperial Oil, a petroleum company operating in Canada, majority owned, about 70 percent, by the US oil company. While she benefitted from Imperial’s money – ultimately Exxon’s money – another scandal plagued Redford’s political career. She drew widespread public controversy in Canada when it was discovered that, during her attendance of the funeral of Nelson Mandela, the State footed the CAD$45,000 cost of her trip, including about CAD$10,000 for a privately chartered return flight from South Africa. Redford reportedly refused several calls to repay the money spent for the South Africa trip, but eventually bowed to pressure in 2014 and delivered the funds back to the public purse, with a public apology. Her resignation quickly followed. Additionally, nothing could be said of Redford’s years of experience, if any in reviewing field development plans. The foregoing factors had cast a shadow of doubt on the integrity of Redford’s work on Payara, which was approved in less than two months. The timeframe of Redford’s review was also called into question as industry experts noted that proper reviews take years and (Continued on page 26)
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From page 25 require a full-fledged team to be completed. Her review however, remains hidden months after Government had promised to make its content public. Nonetheless, Government remains proud of its handling of Payara. In fact, Dr. Jagdeo during his latest interview said that the Payara permit is closer to international standards than the Liza One and Two permits approved by the then David Granger led administration. TUESDAY GHANA’S FAILURE TO CONDUCT PROPER GASTO-SHORE STUDIES RESULTED IN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS US$$$ IN YEARLY LOSSES Democracy does not begin and end with elections. In every liberal democracy, taxpayers have the right to be part of every level of governance. They have the right to demand their government provide clear justification for their plans. This is because, with every transaction a government makes, it is either spending the people’s money or building up debt on the people’s backs. The case is no different when it comes to the heavily touted gas-toshore project. Guyana is not even aware of what it will cost to develop this behemoth of a project. Yet, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has personally decided that it is not important for Guyana to conduct an independent study of the financial viability of this project. Whether Guyana will allow the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) to saddle its back with a project likely to cost US$1B, on the hunch of one man, remains to be seen. Kaieteur News will show how one West African country’s failure to comprehensively study its intended gas-to-shore project resulted in massive gains for energy companies, but hundreds of millions in annual losses for its taxpayers. Ghana’s experience The Republic of Ghana was blessed with massive gas reserves – the Sankofa gas field. In determining what to do with it, Ghana must have seen the decision as a nobrainer. With a population of over 25 million people at the time, the then government figured it needed to bring gas to shore to lift millions out of poverty and revolutionize its energy sector. In support of the Sankofa gas project, the World Bank
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said Ghana “has suffered macroeconomic shocks in recent years – partly due to challenges being faced by the country’s power sector. A combination of water shortages for hydropower, erratic gas supplies from external sources, and delays in the development of domestic gas resources and new power plants have led to frequent power outages that have affected the poor the most.” The project could not have come at a better time, so Ghana was eager to deliver a mega-project to help those who were below the poverty line. Ghana’s then Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, had said the project would help shape the country’s energy sector for the next 20 years. “This project is an essential element of the drive towards consolidating our middle income status, and will help secure our natural gas resources for a more affordable and reliable power supply,” Terkper had stated. “This will help boost economic activity and generate more jobs for Ghanaians.” Does this sound familiar? Here’s what happened next. (Continue reading story h e r e : www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2021/03/23/ghanas-failure-toconduct-proper-gas-toshore-studies-resulted-inhundreds-of-millions-us-inyearly-losses/) …AS GOVT. LOOKS TO RESUSCITATE ‘JUNKYARD FACTORIES’ GUYSUCO SELLS BULK SUGAR FOR HALF THE COST OF PRODUCTION The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has in recent years found itself in dire financial straits with newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sasenarine Singh, now conceding that the industry currently sells bulk sugar for about half of what it costs the industry to produce. Compounding the situation, the three factories that Singh have been tasked with resuscitating— shuttered by the David Granger administration—are in fact now ‘junkyards’ the like of which the new CEO describes as, ‘Sanford and Son’ type facilities. Singh gave the damning revelations on Monday during a candid interview with moderators Dr. Asquith Rose and Charles Sugrim— broadcast by Globespan24X7. The newly appointed CEO told the moderators that the industry currently sells sugar for just about US$340
on the international market but its production cost is closer to US$600. He said, the sale of bulk sugar was unprofitable for the industry, hence the decision to move away from a focus on production to a more market-driven industry, with an emphasis on value added sales. Pointing to the packaged sugar produced by GuySuCo, Singh noted that only 29 percent of its production winds up in the value added chain. According to the CEO, the industry can rake in, in excess of US$670 per ton selling packaged sugar. He noted, however, that this past year the industry was only able to export about 29 percent of its packaged sugar. The CEO has since projected that the industry is looking to increase its sale of packaged sugar by at least 10 percent this year. “Selling at US$300 a ton when production is US$600 doesn’t make any economic sense…what we are focused on is getting a greater percentage of the business at a profitable level,” Singh said. The new CEO disclosed too that gone are the days when the sugar industry produced and sold upwards of 300,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually. He said, the industry has since set itself more moderate targets by looking to produce just about half of that but with a greater focus on value added sales. Singh pledged too, to focus the industry efforts on greater partnerships with the private sector. According to the CEO, “it is very important for the private sector mentality to invade GuySuCo.” This, Singh posited, since the industry is “too stuck in democracy” as he lamented the amount of loopholes to get basic things done. He said too, that key among the industry’s new efforts under his stewardship, in addition to increasing revenue, is cost cutting
measures, in addition to greater diversification on the value added front. Singh cited as an example, agro energy and ethanol production. While not getting into details, Singh documented examples of revenue wastage such as on the purchase of parts where GuySuCo had been found to be paying as much as 10 times more that the item can be acquired for. With regards to the move to a more value added focus on production and likely added cost, Singh illustrated for the moderators that this would be negligible since it would cost the industry just about US$50 to convert bulk to packaged sugar. Speaking to the resuscitation of the estates that had been shuttered by the now ousted coalition, A Partnership for National Unity, Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administration, Singh lamented, “GuySuCo in 2010 and 2011 was a kingdom compared to what we have.” He said that the facilities have become so dilapidated that a visit to the Rose Hall estate recently documented that there were only two tractor frames at the location when records show that there were 17 functional tractors left at the estate. “After three years of plunder by the Ramjattan administration, they left frames…it was a disaster that’s why I said Sanford and Sons.” He told the moderators “…on those three estates…it is a junk yard…we have to rebuild from scratch.” T h e s u g a r i n d u s t r y, according to its new CEO, managed to produce some 88,898 tonnes of sugar with 22,000 tonnes being consumed by the domestic market. The United States of America, he said, had been providing a preferential price for Guyana’s sugar for about 12,500 tonnes even as the industry looks
to secure additional US customers. WEDNESDAY STABROEK BLOCK PSA REVEALS… EXXONMOBIL ENTITLED TO RECOVERANY DISPUTED COSTS PENDING FINAL RESOLUTION Even before his party won the 2015 General and Regional Elections, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had made it pellucid that ExxonMobil would not be allowed to recover costs associated with the establishment of its Ogle Headquarters. He has maintained that stance until now. Further to this, the official had told the media last year that Government made some adverse findings during the final stages of an audit for US$1.6B ExxonMobil, which said it expended up to 2017. The Vice President said that some of the costs being claimed by the American explorer are not considered recoverable by the government. Should ExxonMobil and the Government be unable to find resolution over disputed costs, the provisions of the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) give the American oil giant the privilege of still recovering the said costs pending the final outcome of a legal recourse. This privilege is well preserved under Section 1.5 of Annex C in the PSA. That Section says: “At the conclusion of each audit, the Parties shall endeavour to settle outstanding matters and a written report will be issued to the Contractor within sixty (60) days of the conclusion of such audit. The report shall include all claims arising from such audit. The Contractor shall reply to the report in writing as soon as possible and in any event not later than sixty (60) days following receipt of the report indicating acceptance or rejection of the
audit claim and in the case of a rejection showing explanations thereof. Should the Minister consider that the report or reply requires further investigation on any item therein, the Minister shall have the right to conduct further investigation in relation to such matter within sixty (60) days of its receipt of Contractor’s reply.” It continues, “If within sixty (60) days of the Minister’s further investigation, the Parties are unable to agree to the disposition of the Minister’s audit claim, the claim shall be submitted to the sole expert in accordance with Article 26 of the Agreement. All adjustments resulting from an audit agreed to by the Contractor and the Minister conducting the audit shall be reflected promptly in the accounts by the Contractor and any consequential adjustments in Crude Oil entitlements shall also be made promptly. In the event that an audit claim by the Minister is not settled to the Minister’s satisfaction ExxonMobil is entitled to recover any disputed amounts pending final resolution of the claim.” The contract also notes that any subsequent adjustments in the Minister’s share of Profit Oil following resolution of the claim shall be repaid with an agreed interest as a first claim from Contractor’s share of future Profit Oil. In the event that the Contractor’s share of Profit Oil is insufficient to provide for the Minister ’s extra entitlement including interest, the Contractor shall promptly make an equivalent payment in United States dollars to the Minister. (See link for https:// contract: www.resourcecontracts.org/ contract/ocds-591adf1399550295/view#/pdf) VICTIMS IN BETTER HOPE BACKLANDS SHOOTOUT IDENTIFIED – POLICE HUNT OTHER MAN WHO ESCAPED The three individuals who were killed on Monday (Continued on page 27)
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From page 26 night during a shoot-out with police in the backlands of Better Hope, East Cost Demerara (ECD), have been identified. The two Mazaruni prison escapees among the dead were identified as Imran Ramsaywack, 25, and Rayon Jones, 28. The third individual, a woman, has been identified as Savita Rajkumar, 49, also known as “Debbie” of Better Hope South, Squatting Dam. According to police, she was a close acquaintance of one of the dead prison escapees. As their bodies lie at the Lyken Funeral home, police are currently hunting another man who escaped, following the shootout with the cops. He is believed to be a Mazaruni prison escapee as well. Ramsaywack and Jones were among four high profile prisoners, who on February 16, cut their way to freedom from the Mazaruni prison. The other two who escaped with them are Kenrick Lyte, 44, and Samuel Gouveia, 36.The four of them had reportedly made their way to Bartica and was further assisted in their escape by Jones’ father, Ralph Jones, who lived there. Jones Sr. was later remanded for harbouring them as police continued the massive manhunt for the fugitives. On Monday, police received information that they were hiding out in the Better Hope backlands and ranks swooped down at the location to capture them. The ranks reportedly saw three wooden shacks on an abandoned field, located in a swamped and busy area. They decided to search the shacks and as they approached the second one, they heard a voice coming out from the third. The ranks reported that they identified
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themselves as the police, but a man came out, shot at them and ran away. In retaliation, the ranks said that they returned fire. When they entered the shack where the man came out of, they the saw Ramsaywack and Jones lying on the floor, alongside the woman, Rajkumar, bleeding from gunshot wounds. Ramsaywack was a notorious Berbice gang member, who was convicted of murdering and dismembering a US-based citizen and boutique owner, Samantha Benjamin, on March, 25, 2015. After some four years on remand, he sentenced to death in 2019. Jones on the other hand was serving a 28-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He had reportedly admitted to killing a mechanic, Purand Baljit, on June 9, 2016, at his Madawini, Timehri home, during a robbery. THURSDAY GUYANAPAYING EXXON TO TRAIN OILREGULATOR According to the Environmental Permit for the Payara Project in the Stabroek Block, American oil giant, ExxonMobil, has up to September 23, 2021 to submit an updated Environmental
and Socioeconomic Monitoring Plan. That document which has to be provided to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to include protocols, performance standards, and responsibilities in consultation with and jointly implemented by ExxonMobil and the EPA. Importantly, whatever capacity needs, such as training, that is required by the EPA to implement the plan, ExxonMobil is bound by the permit to provide it. Furthermore, the permit notes that external expertize (local and international) may be sourced by the EPA as may be required to augment this monitoring plan and/or conduct associated audits. Once again, the permit holder will be responsible for all reasonable and jointly agreed upon costs associated with this monitoring plan and any associated independent audits. It is important to note that ExxonMobil would be able to recover the foregoing costs from its production operations in the Stabroek Block. This protection is perfectly secured in Annex C of the Production Sharing Agreement that was signed in 2016 for the offshore concession. By being able to recover such costs, it therefore means that Guyana
is paying ExxonMobil to support the nation’s regulator in doing its job. While Guyana has turned to ExxonMobil for this support, it is important to note that at least three countries, Trinidad, Suriname and Mexico, have made it pellucid over the years that they are willing to share their oil and gas experience with Guyana for these very matters. In 2018 for example, Guyana had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its CARICOM sister, Trinidad and Tobago, to engage in the exchange of knowledge on the oil and gas sector. The document specifically noted that, the Parties may cooperate in the following areas: the exchange of information on public policies in the area of the regulation, administration and sovereign management of hydrocarbon resources and technology transfer; the promotion of training and capacity building of technical personnel and the development of energy technologies through, inter alia, technical visits, secondments, seminars and presentations; the development of policies, plans and protocols relating to health, safety and the environment; and any other means of cooperation agreed to by the Parties in the areas related to the agreement in accordance with the legal system of each country. Furthermore, Kaieteur News was the first to report in 2018 of Mexico’s readiness to assist Guyana in making the EPA a robust regulator for the sector. The following year, Suriname had also made it clear that it stands ready to lend its technical expertize. This too was reported on extensively. Guyana would have also
received technical assistance from the World Bank via a US$20M loan to help strengthen the capacity of the EPA. THE PAYARA PROJECT The Payara development plan includes a floating production, storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, named Prosperity. It is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day. The development will have up to 45 wells, including production wells, water injection wells and gas injection wells. The Payara development startup is expected as early as 2024. This development is ExxonMobil’s third project. BRAZIL BREAKS RECORD FOR DAILY COVID-19 DEATH TOLL Brazil, one of the countries with the highest COVID-19 cases and death toll, has broken a new record as it relates to its daily death reports. BBC News reported Wednesday that the country on Tuesday recorded 3,251 COVID-19 fatalities, being the first time it has ever surpassed the 3,000 benchmark in a daily report. According to BBC, as the virus continues its rapid spread, Brazil’s health care system is at the brink of collapse. “The country has reported 298,676 deaths linked to the virus since the start of the pandemic, with experts saying the situation is virtually out of control,” the report noted. Brazil has also recorded over 2.1 million cases. It was stated that many hospitals are running out of beds in their intensive care units and the drugs needed to treat critically ill patients are in short supply. Six states also reported
worrying levels of medical oxygen supplies, which was noted in the BBC report. Despite the current health crisis and a rapidly spreading new variant in the country, President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed lockdowns and criticised face masks. On Tuesday, the very day on which the record-breaking deaths were recorded, he said, “Very soon we’ll resume our normal lives.” On that day he also swore in cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as the fourth health minister since the pandemic began. BBC reported that he replaces Eduardo Pazuello, an army general who currently is under investigation at the Supreme Court over alleged negligence. Brazil’s authorities have been urged to foster a national response which will see the closure of non-essential businesses in all but two states for 14 days, but President Bolsonaro is of the firm conviction that “the collateral damage to the economy brought by restrictions would be worse than the effects of the virus itself.” He had attempted to stop local authorities from imposing the protective measures, but that was halted by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Here in Guyana the local health sector has been reporting deaths almost daily with the reported death toll up to press time being 221. There have, thus far, been 9,820 confirmed cases and the numbers are steadily rising. In fact, an official close to the Health Ministry recently expressed worry over the manifestation of new confirmed cases, which seems to suggest that a new strain has been imported. The cases, the official said too, (Continued on page 28)
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From page 27 seems to be “spreading wildly”. Even as concerns are raised over Brazil’s proximity (Guyana’s neighbour to the south), health officials announced earlier this week that the joint services will be stringently enforcing COVID measures in an attempt to deescalate the situation here. As part of these efforts, persons failing to wear a face mask in public will be arrested and businesses not adhering to guidelines will be penalised. FRIDAY GUYANA TO PAY FOR PRODUCED WATER STUDY EXXONMOBIL MAY NOT USE According to the Environmental Permit that was granted for Payara, ExxonMobil’s third development project in the Stabroek Block, a study is required to be conducted to investigate and determine the feasibility and implications of re-injecting all of the produced water from the project. International best practices dictate that water which is brought up from reservoirs during oil extraction is supposed to be re-injected into separate wells as opposed to being dumped into the ocean. Re-injection is advised since the toxicity, which varies from one country’s basin to the next, can have a range of harmful effects on marine life. With this in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called on Exxon to submit for approval, terms of reference for the conduct of the study, detailing the feasibility of reinjecting produced water in lieu of routine discharge to the ocean, including implementing for the future installation of facilities for produced water injection, an evaluation of any potential risks to the reservoir from injection, a full cost benefit analysis, and the recommendations of the permit holder. Within 180 days of the date of the EPA’s approval of the said terms, ExxonMobil is expected to complete the study’s final reports. The study is also expected to be conducted by an independent consultant approved by the agency. Following the perusal of the results, the permit notes that the treatment of produced water at the Payara project “may be amended by the agency in consideration of the aforementioned approved study and the conclusions of the EPA, the Permit Holder
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and the Minister of Natural Resources…” It therefore means that Guyana has no guarantee that ExxonMobil would be forced to re-inject all of the produced water if the study shows that the dumping of the water would be harmful to marine life. It is important to note that Guyana will also be paying for this study through cost recovery. It should be noted that as well that no similar study was done for the Liza Phase One or Two Projects, yet Guyana went full steam ahead with approving the permits for those projects. It is in recognition of this grave mistake that former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams, had campaigned for ExxonMobil to put systems in place for the re-injection of the produced water for the Payara project. The official had told this news entity that the Liza Destiny vessel is already dumping 4,000 barrels of produced water into the ocean and in about six years, it will get to about 300,000 barrels. Dr. Adams had said, “I have worked in the oil fields as a Production and Reservoir engineer and we injected every single drop of water. If you are onshore, the water would obviously have to be re-injected. Also, the World Bank has made it clear that you should only dispose of produced water into the ocean when it is not technically feasible.” The Environmental Engineer had said that in ExxonMobil’s case, “it is more than feasible.” ASHNI SINGH INSTRUCTS GRA TO GO AFTER BUSINESSES CHARGING VAT ON EXEMPTED ITEMS Businesses operating in Guyana that continue to impose a 14 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on commodities and services that were zero-rated will be prosecuted and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has since been instructed to go after delinquent businesses. This, according to the Ministry of Finance, which in a public missive on Wednesday, quoted Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance within the Office of the President, Dr. Ashni Singh saying, “it has come to my attention through various reports from members of the public that a number of hardware stores have since refused to comply and are still unscrupulously charging VAT on several items.” According to Dr. Singh,
businesses that continue to flout the laws and unscrupulously attach a 14 percent VAT to items on which the VAT has been removed or has been reduced will face the full force of the law as this is illegal. Dr. Singh lamented that the “practice is denying consumers the right to ultimately enjoy reduced prices on various commodities including construction materials.” The Minister in his statement recalled that when the 2021 Budget was passed in the National Assembly on March 4, last, it would have outlined a number of measures including the VAT zero-rating, or reduction of VAT or duty, previously charged on a number of commodities. It was noted too that Order Number 6 of 2021 of the Value Added Tax Act Cap.81:05 of the Laws of Guyana came into effect immediately for VAT zerorating of certain construction materials. These include stone imported for construction and housing from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, locally produced pre-stressed concrete piles and locally fabricated mild steel beams for building construction and locally manufactured roofing and PVC products for building construction. The import duty on industrial grade cement was also reduced from 15 percent to five percent.
Additionally, the VAT zero rate was also restored to basic food items and household necessities that were previously zero-rated up to May 2015 but switched to ‘standard-rate’ or ‘exempt’ over the past five years. These include basic wheaten flour, breads, oats, unflavoured cracker biscuits, cooking oil, locally produced bed sheets and pillowcases and toothbrushes among other items. According to Dr Singh, prior to this, the emergency Budget was passed in Parliament on September 25, 2020, also stipulated the VAT zero rate or removal of VAT on other commodities including the overall removal of VAT on electricity and water. Therefore, since then, VAT would have also been removed from hinterland travel and data, as well as building and construction materials. According to the Ministry’s missive, the Senior Finance Minister recalled that all of these measures were intended to benefit consumers and ease the expense aligned to these previously burdensome tax measures and with their removal or reduction, “the expectancy was that it would have ultimately allowed for the reduction in the cost of living of Guyanese generally.” As such, “this illegality will not be tolerated” Dr. Singh said, and announced that he has already instructed the relevant agency—the
Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA)—to ensure that countrywide checks are made to enforce compliance with the VAT regulations. According to Dr. Singh, businesses found flouting the laws and continuing to deprive consumers and customers of these benefits will be dealt with according to law. SATURDAY FORMER ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, OTHERS SLAPPED WITH $19M FRAUD CHARGE Former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kevin Adonis, and three other members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Friday made their first court appearance after they were slapped with a $19M fraud charge. The defendants are Kevin Adonis, of 95 Stewartville, West Bank Demerara; Rawle Haynes, of Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo; Jermaine Fraser, of 4116 Phase One West Minister, West Coast Demerara and Michael Corbin, of 315 First Avenue, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara. The matters were called in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan. All four men had obtained legal representation. Adonis was represented by attorneyat-law, Mark Waldon; Corbin was represented by attorney-
at-law, Patrice Henry; Haynes’ counsel was attorney-at-law, Dexter Todd and Fraser ’s lawyer was Latchmie Rahamat. Fraser, Haynes, Corbin, and Adonis were slapped with a joint charge, while Corbin and Haynes were slapped with individual charges. They were not required to plead to the indictable charges after they were read to them. The first charge alleged that Adonis, Fraser, Haynes and Corbin between March 26, 2019, and March 29, 2019, at Georgetown, conspired together with each other and persons unknown, while being public officers, employed by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), stole $19,030,767 belonging to the Guyana Police Force, their employer. The latter charge alleged that Corbin on March 26, 2019, at Guyana Police Force, Finance Office, Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown, input electronic data, that is to say, a payment voucher entry in the sum of $19,030,767 into the Ministry of Finance’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), but it was not authentic. The final charge stated that Haynes on March 29, 2019, at Georgetown, while being a public officer, employed by the Guyana Police Force, stole $19,030,767, money belonging to the said Guyana Police Force. The matter is (Continued on page 29)
Sunday March 28, 2021
From page 28 being prosecuted by Special Organized Crime Unit (S.O.C.U) Prosecutor, Leslyn Nobel. According to the facts of the charge, the missing $19,030,767 was allocated for officers who performed extra duties. However, there are documents that show that those officers signed and received the monies, but it was later revealed that the officers never received the monies. The matter was reported and an investigation was launched. The four men were subsequently charged. Chief Magistrate, McLennan, placed Corbin on $250,000 bail; Haynes was placed on $200,000 bail, while Adonis and Fraser were placed on $150,000 bail each. They are expected to make their next court appearance on April 12, 2021. Only last year, Corbin and Fraser were slapped with 21 fraud charges, which amounted to a total sum of $11,385,000. They had appeared before Principal Magistrate, Faith McGusty, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, and were placed on $250,000 bail each. It is alleged that the duo, on April 4, 2019, at Eve Leary, Georgetown, while being employed as a clerk or servant at the GPF’s Finance Office, with intent to defraud, they willfully made false entries into the accounts of their employer. ROGER KHAN WAS THE INTENDED TARGET IN MAIN STREET EXECUTION – SOURCES The bullets that riddled the body of popular gold dealer, Ricardo Fagundes better known as “Paper Shorts,” may not have been intended for him, but rather his close associate, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan, sources disclosed to Kaieteur News. Fagundes was executed on March 21, last, in front of popular nightclub, Palm Court, at 22:00 hrs. Kaieteur News was told that shortly before the shooting, he was seen entering the nightclub with Roger Khan and another associate. While many theories float as to why anyone would want to harm Fagundes, sources close to the investigations presented a clear outline of the assumption. It was said that both Fagundes and Khan were identically dressed at the time of the shooting. They both were sporting an all-black attire with accompanying black hats. This, according to the source was said to be
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“coincidental.” Added to that, Khan and Fagundes are said to have to same height and built, not to mention, Fagundes would regularly drive Khan’s black Ford pick-up – as he was that evening. It was disclosed that moments before the shooting, as the nightclub was beginning to shut its doors, Fagundes was reportedly heading to bring the vehicle closer to the gate, so that Khan and his associate could depart. It was then that the gunmen struck. Video footage obtained from a CCTV camera showed Fagundes exiting the nightspot located at Main Street, Georgetown, and walking towards a black Ford pick-up. At that moment, two men armed with guns exited the backseat of the heavily tinted Toyota Fielder, which was parked on the western lane of Main Street. One of the gunmen was clothed in a white jersey and dark coloured long pants, while the other had on a white t-shirt and a light coloured short pants along with a black fanny pack that hung around his shoulders. From the CCTV footage, the two men accosted Fagundes and immediately opened fire at him. Fagundes attempted to run and hide behind the pick-up, but faced continuous fire. Seconds later, he collapsed in front of the pick-up. The gunmen then stood over Fagundes’ body and shot him several times before making good their escape. Sources noted that this could be termed as “over kill.” Investigators had also located a burnt out car at Swan Village on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, found hours after the gold dealer’s execution. This is believed to be the same one his executioners used to get away from the scene. According to information received, the case file has been passed to the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), with no
arrests made up to press time. INT’L LAWYER CHALLENGES VP JAGDEO TO SHOW EVIDENCE THAT GAS-TO-SHORE PROJECT WILL WORK The Irfaan Ali led administration is steadfast in its plan to land a multibillion dollar pipeline at Wales, West Bank Demerara, for the proposed gas-to-shore project despite the widespread criticism it has faced from industry experts. Many share the same concern that Government is moving too fast and should pump their breaks, at least until a thorough plan is laid out to show exactly how the project will benefit Guyanese. Vice President (VP) and local oil boss, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has touted a reduction in electricity costs as one of the most crucial benefits to be had. On this premise, no financial feasibility study will be conducted, as according to the VP, that aspect is “a nobrainer.” But International Environmental Lawyer, Melinda Janki is taking him to task on his comments, and is now challenging Dr. Jagdeo to present irrefutable evidence in support of his claim. “Vice-President Jagdeo claims that the gas-to-shore project will benefit the Guyanese. Where is the VicePresident’s evidence?” Janki asked, in her comment to Kaieteur News. “If gas is such a good thing, why can’t ExxonMobil sell it on the open market? Why doesn’t anybody want to buy Guyana’s associated gas? (It’s) because it’s worthless,” she continued. Janki also alluded to statements made by Tom Sanzillo, Director of financial analysis at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), that the intended gas-to-shore project could prove financially damaging to Guyana. Sanzillo had made the point that although he can
appreciate Government’s inclination to respond to the rising demand for electricity while addressing black out woes, Guyana’s modus operandi when negotiating the lopsided oil contract gives no evidence that it can do right when bringing gas to shore. Janki then asked, “IEEFA says this gas project could bankrupt Guyana. Can the Vice-President answer IEEFA’s financial assessment? Whom do the Guyanese people believe? A Government that has no experience of gas or the expert analysis of an international energy body that is decades old.” The International Lawyer also pointed to a World Bank report titled ‘Energy Markets in Latin America Emerging disruptions and the Next Frontier,’ which stated, “In countries such as Suriname, Guyana, Ecuador, Paraguay, and most of Central America and the Caribbean, natural gas demand is small or nonexistent.” With that said, Janki opined that Guyana ought to be moving in a different direction – solar. She backed up her statements pointing to the
International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook for 2020. Janki noted that the IEA had offered a highly influential annual outlook with four “pathways” to 2024, all of which see a major rise in renewables. She noted that the IEA’s main scenario has 43% rise in solar power output by 2024, over wind energy and hydro power with solar presenting itself as the cheapest option. While natural gas is known as the cleanest burning fossil fuel, it is not cheap to produce, as millions of dollars are needed to secure gas pipelines and infrastructure to covert the natural gas into useable power. Presently, the crude estimation for Guyana’s gasto-shore project stands at US$500-800 million, depending on the design, pipeline size and surveys. Janki had taken Government to task regarding the gas-to-shore project before. On that occasion, she had called on President, Irfaan Ali, to provide to the nation, evidence that the project was economically sound. Janki asked the President to present a Natural Gas Business Plan, which
provides a comprehensive, quantitative and qualitative presentation of the Guyana natural gas project. The presentation, she outlined should include, but not be limited to, a brief description of the major facilities to be constructed (drilling and extraction, offshore and onshore pipelines and natural gas power stations) including capacity, size, estimated start and completion of construction and anticipated lifecycle; comprehensive, estimated construction costs of each facility and an aggregate cost assessment and construction cash flow from ground breaking to commercial operation; and a comprehensive 30-year business plan of each individual facility and, if integrated, the plan should specify the operational assumptions. She had requested that President Ali provide, as well, an Energy Plan outlining Guyana’s electric utility’s resource needs to meet expected demand over the next 30 years and the assumed additions and retirements, cost and performance assumptions used in the plan. This is yet to be done.
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==THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN==
Listening to Julio Iglesias and reflecting on my life
T
here are two things that I look forward to. I love walking my dog on the Georgetown seawall and I enjoy walking my dog at the back of Giftland Mall which ends at the front of Demerara Estates. The first pleasure is logical. I spent an inordinate amount of time as a little boy on that wall. My father was the grounds man for Saint Stanislaus sports ground and I would abandon primary school and visit him countless times. While he toiled away in the sun, I would stray from the Kingston jetty to where the Kitty pump station is. The second source of enjoyment with my dog is illogical. What is there to like being with my dog at the back of Giftland Mall? The first and the second sites cannot be compared. It is cultural philistinism to compare the joy of being with your pet on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean with walking your dog at the back of GIftland. On the first horizon, you discover the humanity and humility in yourself. On the other plain, as you sit while your pet perambulates all you see are people going into their fancy cars with bling oozing profusely but do they possess the essential values of civilization? Still, I just feel satisfied walking my dog at the second
place. I tried to turn over in my mind why I feel this way. I am still grasping with it but last Monday, a piece of the puzzle came tumbling down. I am about to lose that space that my dog loves to roam while I listen to the music of romance. Giftland is about to put down a drive-in-cinema right on that spot. So Monday while my little, loved one strayed, I was listening to Julio Iglesias and Iglesias always causes me to reflect on my life. He reminds me of the stages of life humans go through. In 1982, while doing my doctorate at the University of Toronto, I discovered this brilliant voice. I was walking down Spadina Avenue, downtown Toronto, and I went into an East European clothes store. There on the shelves were albums of European singers. The store also sold records. The one that caught my eyes was an album titled, “Love’s Theme.” Once I saw that title my curiosity ran wild. My favourite pop song is the instrumental hit of Barry White - “Love’s Theme.” One of the regrets of my life is that I have never been able to dance that song with the love of my life – Janet, my wife. I went home, played that album by Julio Iglesias and was simply enthralled with his voice and his vocal rendition of the Barry White phenom-
enon. I went the next day to class and told my friends of what I discovered. They all laughed and made a joke about pronouncing his last name. When I left Canada to serve the Maurice Bishop Government in Grenada that European singer had become a sensational, international superstar. Last Monday, I sat on a discarded pallet, while my pet roamed, and listened to Iglesias and so many memories of university life in Canada came tumbling down. But they weren’t memories of student life essentially but life in general. It was there and then I knew why I liked the back of Giftland to be with my dog. As I listen to my favourite musical genres, as I look at the shoppers walking across the car park, as I see the luxurious vehicles from Demerara Estates passing by, thoughts of the time I discovered Iglesias in Canada, the democratic culture of Canada, the lovely multi-racial people I met in that country flashed potently across my mind. Those days are gone, and here I am in Guyana wishing that those perfect multi-racial souls that changed my life forever when I was a postgraduate student, I would see in my own country. The compulsion that accompanies your reflections when you are alone is the comparison of halcyon days
gone by with the erratic times you live with inside your own country. Last Monday, listening to Julio Iglesias reminded me that no matter how realistic you are about this land, Guyana drives you to reminisce about peaceful existence, mental tranquillity, multi-racial socialization that were once part of your existence elsewhere.
I guess there will no longer be reflections of my life at the back of Giftland Mall, in front of Demerara Estates, while my little dog looks for creatures in the grass. The drive on-cinema has evicted me and my dog. But the beach of the Atlantic is still there and that is paradise par excellence. (The views expressed in this article are those of the
Frederick Kissoon author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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Coronavirus: The Brazilian variant is affecting the young at alarming rates; now is not the time to celebrate By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt Medical Center Two weeks ago, I highlighted the situation in Brazil and my concerns for us in Guyana. Since then, our case numbers and death rates have surged and we are now in one of the deadliest and infectious months since the pandemic started. What is more alarming is the fact that this has not changed public behaviour much. Crowds are still gathering and there is improper or no mask wearing at all. Today,
I want to expand more on the situation in Brazil as this is a pretty decent reflection of what may be coming our way if we continue to flout prevention measures as we are currently doing. What’s happening in Brazil Brazil currently has the highest number of COVID-19 related death in the world over the past two weeks. The numbers of infection and deaths are increasing daily and their hospitals are filled to capacity. Analysis of the data from the Brazil Ministry of Health shows that the number of people aged 30-59 represented about 27 percent
of COVID-19 deaths over the past three months. State health officials in São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, said earlier this month that anecdotal testimony from doctors across the country about the severity of cases in younger people is backed up by their data. Officials said 60 percent of younger patients with COVID-19 needed ICU beds, a higher figure than earlier in the pandemic. Officials from the WHO are warning neighbouring countries to take precautions since they are very concerned that the mutated variant responsible
for this devastation, can spread across borders and cause similar effects in other countries. What’s to blame for the recent devastation? The increase in both illness and death in younger people has coincided with the rise of at least one COVID-19 variant in Brazil. The so-called P.1 variant, which scientists say originated from Brazil, is widely agreed upon to be more easily transmissible, up to 2.2 times, according to a recent study. Experts also point to an increase in parties around the new year and Carnival holidays in the first part of the year. Younger people taking part in parties may simply have been more exposed as of late. This variant is more deadly, easier to catch and affects younger adults more than previous strains of the SarsCov2 virus. This is a recipe for disaster and it is exactly what we are seeing in Brazil. The numbers are already alarming here We have already seen an increase in cases and deaths in Guyana over the last fortnight. Whether this is from the Brazil variant or is from an excess in irresponsible
behaviour, is yet to be determined. My concern is that it may be the former and the latter is responsible for its rapid spread. Common sense would dictate that we should not wait to find out, but get responsible and heed preventative measure before the situation really gets out of control. We have recently seen more deaths of younger persons than in any other period during this pandemic. The young adults here are getting hit harder with the disease than previously. Given what’s going on with our neighbouring territory, we should presume that a similar situation is evolving here and start to behave responsibly by adhering to preventative measures. We need to pay attention to the upcoming religious holidays Over the next eight weeks or so, Guyana will be observing Phagwah, Easter and Ramadaan. These are all periods where people gather in large numbers. Having large, uncontrolled gatherings during a pandemic surge is a recipe for disaster. I am pleading to all especially religious and community leaders to educate members in their community of the
Dr. Zulfikar Bux need to avoid gatherings and celebrations during this period as much as possible. The government has indicated that there will be sufficient vaccine to cover our population in 2021. We need to survive till then, and what we do during the next eight weeks or so, will determine our fate. If we act responsibly and curb the spread during this time, I am confident we would have bought sufficient time to get enough people vaccinated and bring the epidemic under control. On the other hand, irresponsible behaviour during this period may most likely lead to a devastation like we have never seen before. I therefore ask that we mask up, get vaccinated and unite against gatherings for the next two months. If we do this and we do it well, I am optimistic that we will be able to see light at the end of the tunnel.
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BLUNTNESS ON INDECENCY! In case you haven’t heard, please be informed that as part of our continued effort to channel positive changes in our country, our publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall, has dedicated our Page Seven to be “BLUNT” about on-going indecency in our land that should matter, not only to us at this publication, but the entire nation. SUNDAY Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, thinks that he can draw attention away from the need for a financial viability study for the gas-to-shore project by belittling people who advocate for one. The VP’s utterances do not excuse the Government from the duty to show this country how the project is viable. The Guyanese people must be convinced that this project will work. MONDAY There is great irony in the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, observing International Day of Forests yesterday, while ExxonMobil’s toxic gas flaring is allowed to occur without recourse and counter to the very reason forests are conserved. He tells you that our de-
forestation rate has never exceeded one percent, but not that Exxon’s flaring last year equates to the removal of over four percent of Guyana’s forests. He tells you that Guyana’s forest loss in 2019 was only 12,738 hectares, but he doesn’t tell you that Exxon’s flaring last year equates to 130 times that. These are the things Minister Bharrat does not want you to know. TUESDAY Any billion-dollar foreign company with no concern for Guyana’s laws and the rights of its people will come here to mistreat us, once they know that they would only have to pay GYD$1,000 for a breach. Successive governments keep making promises to reform Guyana’s outdated laws, but they are yet to deliver. Can we get this law reform
over and done with, already? WEDNESDAY Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, should not think it is alright to bet hundreds of millions of dollars on his hunch that the gas-to-shore project is a no-brainer. Ghanaian leadership had the same attitude and are regretting it to this day. Ghana may be able to afford such massive annual losses, but Guyana cannot. THURSDAY What sense does it make to have ExxonMobil train the EPA, and set the parameters for the EPA to regulate it? The same company that
flares billions of cubic feet of gas and dumps thousands of barrels of produced water into the ocean is expected to teach Guyana to be a prudent regulator of its operations. Is the Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, boasting
about the ‘superior’ Payara permit? SATURDAY ExxonMobil must realize that the Guyanese public sees how parasitic and unfair it has been to Guyana, in its exploi-
tation of our precious black gold. That must be why it is looking for publicity services – to turn its predatory image around. But we will always remem-
ber that ExxonMobil has not insured Guyana against disasters at its operations. We will never forget that ExxonMobil refuses to give Guyana – its crown jewel – a better deal.
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What you need to know about the Juvenile Justice Act The Court Journal By Renay Sambach
I
n Guyana, there is the Juvenile Justice Act, which outlines how juvenile offenders and other issues related to juveniles must be handled. A juvenile is considered a child under the age of 18. The act consolidates the law in relation to criminal justice for juveniles. The act not only makes provisions for proceedings against juvenile offenders, but also the establishment of facilities for the custody, educational training and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders in order for them to be re-integrated into society. When handling criminal matters that involve children below the age of 18, there are rules that must be observed. According to the Juvenile Justice Act, any child under the age of 10 cannot be guilty of any offence. It should be noted that if any child under the age of 17 is arrested and cannot be brought before a court without delay, they must be released on a recognizance with or without sureties. However, if the child was not released from custody, the child can be kept in custody. The child must be kept in custody at a facility that was designed to hold juvenile delinquents, until he/she can be brought before a court. Some reasons why the child can be detained are: if he/she was arrested for murder or other serious crimes, if it’s impracticable to release the child, if the child has an unruly or depraved character or because of the child’s state of mental or physical health. The officer must certify his/her reason for detaining the child and the certificate must be produced when the child is brought before the court. A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, S.C., prosecutors and police o ff i c e r s c a n c o n s i d e r warnings and referrals to avoid juveniles from going to court. However, the DPP must conduct pre-charge screening before a juvenile is charged and placed before the courts. The DPP must give a written consent to any private individual who
wishes to institute charges against a juvenile. CHILDREN’S COURT In a previous edition of ‘The Court Journal,’ it was reported that, after the Juvenile Justice Act was passed, Guyana opened the doors of the first Children’s Court on October 31, 2018, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts compound. The establishment of the Children’s Court is essential to ensuring that the objectives of the Juvenile
recommendations urging that they be implemented as early as possible. Some of those implementations, include raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years; and ensuring that those below the age of majority not be tried as adults, but be given adequate special protection. DETENTION FACILITIES When a child is brought before the court, if he/she is remanded, that child will not
The Juvenile Holding Centre.
The Children’s Court in Georgetown.
Justice Act are achieved and to ensure that a more rehabilitative and restorative system was implemented for juvenile justice. It should be noted that the law provides children below the age of 18 with free legal advice. It also provides a humane alternative to the tense formal court setting, remands and incarceration for young lawbreakers. The Children’s Court was designed to assist in helping youths and to prevent them from falling deeper into the life of crime. One of the aims of the court is to divert juveniles from the formal court procedure, which will be an asset when it comes to dealing with delinquents. The two Magistrates who underwent extensive training to hear matters in the Children’s Courts are Dylon Bess and Annette Singh. The Children’s Court was in the pipeline since 2004, after the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government tabled its first report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The committee then made a number of
be remanded to prison, but to the Juvenile Holding Centre. The $37.6M Juvenile Holding Centre which is located at Lot 2 Dennis Street, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, officially opened its doors on April 8, 2011, by the then Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee. It was decided that juveniles from age 10 and over, but under the age of 17, who have committed any crime, should not be detained in the same manner like adult offenders. The Juvenile Holding Centre provides custody for children and young persons; awaiting their court appearance, who have been committed by the courts but not escorted to the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) and who have completed the period of their sentence and awaiting rehabilitation and reintegration into their families or the community. There is also the NOC, which was established as a correctional facility for the young. NOC is located at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, Region Two, and houses juveniles who were sanctioned by the court
custodial sentence, the court must review pre-sentencing reports that must be prepared by the Chief Probation Officer. REHABILITATION Under the Juvenile Justice Act, there are laws that provide for juveniles to be rehabilitated so that they could be re-integrated in the society. Juveniles who are being kept at the Holding Centre or NOC are not only being educated but are also involved in curriculum
The programme, according to a Ministry of Home Affairs statement, was aimed at supporting the education, rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles, through a Skills Development Project and Educational Workshop.” JUVENILE COURT MATTER The most recent serious matter that involved a juvenile offender is the 16year-old boy who was remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre on a murder
The New Opportunity Corps (NOC) located on the Essequibo Coast. system. SENTENCING Some procedures that were put in place to restore and deal with juveniles, who commit offences, can range from apology to compulsory attendance to some vocabulary educational centre; or compensation to the victim in an amount to which the juveniles’ family can afford. Instead of sentencing a juvenile to imprisonment, it is advised to ensure rehabilitation, eradication and reintegration into society.Before ordering a
activities to build and develop their characters. Recently Kaieteur News reported, “The Ministry of Home Affairs’ Juvenile Justice Department, in collaboration with the University of Guyana (UG), conducted a five-month Academic and Skills Training Programme for Juveniles at the Juvenile Holding Centre.” It was further reported that, “12 juveniles participated in the programme and were awarded certificates on Friday March 19, 2021.
charge. It is alleged that the teen on March 11, 2021, in the company of others, shot and killed 10-year-old, Anthony Cort, at Packet Corner, C Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, during the course or furtherance of a robbery. The teen made his first court appearance on Friday March 19, 2021, in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate, Alisha George. He is expected to make his next court appearance on May 12, 2021.
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Enetworks to air Formula this weekend The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship is a planned motor racing championship for Formula One cars which will be the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. The event which kicks off this weekend on ESPN and the E2 channel at 10: 55 am is recognised by the Fédération
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Kaieteur News
Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for openwheel racing cars. The championship is due to be contested over twentythree Grands Prix, which will be held around the world. Drivers and teams are sched-
uled to compete for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' C h a m p i o n respectively.champion. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the defending World Drivers' and World Constructors' Champions respectively, having won both titles in 2020.
Bacardi: The World's Smoothest Rum Bacardi was founded on February 4 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó in Santiago de Cuba, when he bought a small distillery and revolutionized the rum-making process to create a smooth, light-bodied spirit – what the world now knows as BACARDÍ®? rum. As regards the other elements of how this rum came into being, Facundo’s wife, Doña Amalia had noticed a colony of fruit bats hanging in the rafters of the distillery and recognized their importance to the Spanish and Cuban Taíno Indians as symbols of good health, family unity, and good fortune. She suggested adopting the bat as the symbol of BACARDÍ rum and soon locals began to ask for “el ron del murcielago” – the rum of the bat. Furthermore, Facundo Bacardí Moreau (son of Don Facundo) planted a coconut palm at the front of the new distillery. Affectionately known as El Coco, the palm became a symbol to the Bacardí family and company. Withstanding a distillery fire, five earthquakes, and countless hurricanes, El Coco symbolized strength and resilience of the Bacardi company. Below are some variations of this enticing rum which is distributed by Ansa McAl Limited. WHITE RUM BACARDÍ CARTA BLANCA In 1862, after 10 years of perfecting his rums, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó introduced the world to his BACARDÍ Carta Blanca rum. A sublime rum for cocktails, it doesn’t dominate other flavours nor does it disappear when mixed. Perfect for classic rum
cocktails like the Mojito. A CLASSIC PROFILE TASTING NOTES Floral and fruity, BACARDI´ Carta Blanca rum serves up orange blossom, lavender and rose, teamed with apricot, lime, light coconut and ripe banana. MOJITO Introduce refreshing BACARDÍ Carta Blanca white rum to the cool, crispness of freshly squeezed lime and mint on ice. You've just created an Original BACARDÍ Mojito the perfect rum cocktail for sundown and other magical moments.
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>>> Young Entrepreneur on the Move<<<
Seonnae Naughton and her ‘talk of the town’ creativity By Sueann Wickham
M
any have suffered losses from the on-going COVID-19 pandemic that has sent shockwaves through the world, but for Seonnae Destinee Naughton, a 20year-old aspiring architect and designer, it seems to have been a blessing in disguise. This is according to the young entrepreneur who recently shared her journey to establishing her business, ‘Seonnae Voguish Styles,’ which has been the talk of the town for the creativity which it embraces. Through her business, Naughton sought to convert old or sizeable clothing into more trendy and stylish fashion pieces. “As much as the pandemic might’ve come across as the worst possible thing that happened in 2020, for me it was a blessing in disguise to the greatest extent. Since persons have been at home with little to nothing to do, they’ve been even more active on social media, which gave me the opportunity to reach more persons than expected,” she testified. But there was much more that led to her launching her business. She expressed that she has always been a lover of the arts and fashion. She attended the Christ Church Secondary School where she completed her secondary education, graduating with eight CSEC subjects and then a year later she opted to pursue her studies at the Government Technical Institute for two years in the field of Architecture. “My creative talent has always been a personal venture for me. At a very young age, I started designing and sewing, starting by changing the wardrobe of my dolls in which I received as Christmas presents and I’d look for every possible piece of discarded garment around the house to make an outfit for them. After a few years of sewing, I was dubbed the seamstress of the house and I was able to truly explore my gift and skills,” Naughton stated. Whenever her siblings had events, they’d show her their outfit ideas and she would immediately begin sewing their garments
with just a needle and thread. The pieces she created for them ranged from prom dresses to Christmas costumes and through that, she was able to better her sewing skills. When COVID-19 first hit Guyana and
soci alizing was prohibited, amidst all the challenges, she found comfort in expressing herself through fashion by “discovering a new talent whereas I’d flip old, unstylish and oversized clothing into something more of today’s fashion,” she said. “Whenever I got a new idea, I’d sketch it out on a piece of paper, choose a suitable wear and convert it into what would be more likely to catch the eyes of the public. It never took me
long er than a day to come up with my end product,” Naughton said with pride. However, with the establishment of any business, challenges are
“We not only solve the problems of a disintegrating community, but we also offer solutions as we become job creators for not only other young persons aspiring to become entrepreneurs but also older, qualified and unqualified persons.” expected and she was no stranger to such
sewing and finishing of the clothing on my own and with just the use of a scissors, needle and thread,” she said. However, she knows that there will always be challenges, which she will not permit to hamper her work. She also shared with this publication that when she kick-started her business on March 6 this year, it was the death anniversary of her grandmother. “As much as I put off this act for months, I am grateful for being able to start on the death anniversary of my
The young designer, Seonnae Naughton.
Some of her remarkable recreations.
happ enings. The 20-year-old recalled that her main challenge was getting the instruments needed to help her get her work done, since she did not own a functioning sewing machine. She remembered being gifted one by a seamstress sometime back to help her pursue her talent but after a few uses, it stopped working. “Due to the lack of finances, I was unable to repair or purchase a new one
so I was forced to continue working by hand, which has been very time-consuming as I’d have to do the cutting,
grandmother who passed away a year ago and would have loved to see how far I’ve gotten,” the
you ng designer shared. This was after she received enough positive feedback and garnered the courage.
Naughton has always struggled with her selfconfidence but she knew it needed to be conquered to start her business.
H e r long-term goal is to increase awareness for her brand and to have her name recognized
with creative designing, as she is very cognizant that her expressive nature is unique. As it relates to the role young entrepreneurs play in society, Naughton lamented that small businesses are emerging every day and the impact they are having on society is quite evident. “We not only solve the problems of a disintegrating community, but we also offer solutions as we become job creators for not only other young persons aspiring to become entrepreneurs, but also older, qualified and unqualified persons,” she noted. She is overwhelmed to be a part of that community, giving positive impacts on others dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur and later being able to provide jobs for others. She said, “It all starts with a dream and a vision. Once you have that you’ll later on discover how invincible you can be.”
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Early Childhood and Care for Elderly Research Centres... From page 54 Violence, abuse against any age, any gender is unacceptable.” The Minister further said that one of the main focus of her Ministry is the early childhood development and in that light appealed to parents to create an environment that will ultimately have a positive impact on the lives of the children so that may be in the future “a positive contributing adult to country.” CEO of the St. Francis Community Developers, Alex Foster who facilitated the Minister on a tour of the centres on Friday stressed on the importance of local content to be entwined into the developmental programmes and centres and in that regard the Minister said she has taken note of that and her Ministry will be working with UNICEF “on increasing the materials that are
available.” Also launched on Friday was the “Dress for Success Closet” which will be made available for persons who may be going on a job interview but need to look professional. Alex Foster mentioned during his address that the United Nations has injected $8M over the past four months and it is with their support and the support of others that all goals that were set out by the NGO have been achieved. The Spotlight Initiative was launched at the NGO several weeks ago with sites in New Amsterdam, Corentyne and Skeldon. Foster added that the launch is a continuation of the project with UNICEF pumping some $2M more into the initiative. Thus far, two behavioral change officers have been kept and those persons will
Local Content Policy must... From page 8 content requirement under these Regulations, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than two years or to both.” It also notes, “A person who connives with a citizen or an indigenous Ghanaian company to deceive the Commission as representing an indigenous Ghanaian company to achieve the local content requirement under these Regulations, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year
and not more than two years or to both.” It is instructive to note as well, that anyone who knowingly submits false documents and makes false statements to Ghana’s Commission along with fronting for a foreign individual or a company to give the impression that local content is being achieved, would also have to face the proverbial music. Ghana’s regulations in this regard specifically states that, “A person who submits a plan, returns, report or other document and knowingly makes a false statement, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred thousand penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than five years or to both.”
President Ali says budget to be... From page 10 200,000 in. We have established a supply chain. We have established the storage facility. We had meetings with the Private Sector because we have to bring all the storage capacity together to get this done.” “So, we will be able once the scheduling that is the 24,000 and the first set of the
200,000 coming in by Monday, Tuesday; we will be able to roll out early next week by Wednesday definitely, the 40 and above in a massive way,” he added. To date, Guyana has received 103,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Sinopharm vaccine from China.
...Dr. Michael Marks From page 52 love for humanity should be in the way we treat people as medical doctors because after all the medicine is given and that patient becomes better, the only thing they will remember is how they were treated.” Dr. Marks commended the nurses at the institution for doing an excellent job in this regard, and for being a support system to
him. After the patient is discharged from the hospital, he noted that members of the community must also strive to be their “brothers and sisters’ keeper in providing that psychological support.” Now that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign has rolled out, he is encouraging persons to take the vaccine in an effort to combat the virus.
be moving around in the communities of New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Corentyne and Port Mourant, Corentyne. He also spoke of a collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services enabling them to also hand over ten children friendly spaces
across Region Six. Representatives from European Union, United Nations UNICEF and UNFPA along with beneficiaries were present at the event on Friday. Minister Persaud was also given the opportunity to plant a tree.
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PAGE 57 On Thursday, Biden said he would prevent China from passing the US to become the most powerful country in the world, pledging to invest heavily to ensure the US prevails in the rivalry between the world’s largest economies [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
Kaieteur News
Pres. Biden suggests creating initiative to rival China’s Belt and Road Al Jazeera – United States President Joe Biden said he suggested to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a phone call on Friday that democratic countries should have an infrastructure plan to rival China’s Belt and Road initiative. “I suggested we should have, essentially, a similar initiative, pulling from the democratic states, helping those communities around the world that, in fact, need help,” Biden told reporters. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multitrilliondollar infrastructure scheme launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping involving development and investment initiatives that would stretch from East Asia to Europe. The project would significantly expand China’s economic and political influence, raising concerns in the US and elsewhere. Biden’s remarks came after he said on Thursday he would prevent China from passing the US to become the most powerful country in the world, pledging to invest heavily to ensure the US prevails in the ever-growing rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. Biden plans to unveil a multitrillion-dollar plan to upgrade US infrastructure next
week. He said on Thursday this would ensure increased US investment in promising new technologies, such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. While airing its concerns and seeking to encourage private sector-investment for overseas projects to rival those of the BRI, Washington has yet to be able to convince countries that it can offer an alternative to the statebacked economic vision put forward by Beijing under BRI. More than 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate in BRI projects like railways, ports, highways and other infrastructure. According to a Refinitiv database, as of midlast year, more than 2,600 projects at a cost of $3.7 trillion were linked to the initiative. However, China said last year that about 20 percent of BRI projects had been “seriously affected” by the coronavirus pandemic. There has also been pushback against BRI from countries that have criticised projects as costly and unnecessary. Beijing scaled back some plans after several countries sought to review, cancel or scale down commitments, cit-
GUYANA INFO BOX Chinese and Guyanese Presidents, Xi Jinping and Dr. Irfaan Ali, held talks on the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), on March 16. It is China’s controversial debt-laden plan to build a trade superhighway across the globe. Guyana signed on to an instrument signaling its intent to participate, in July 2018. Under the initiative, scores of countries appear to benefit from multimillion-dollar soft loans from China for the construction of roads, bridges, airports, deep-water ports and other infrastructure.
Because the project has potential to impact the global political and economic reality significantly, it has become controversial, and has been dubbed by the West as a manifestation of China’s debttrap diplomacy. Kaieteur News has highlighted how China has been targeting weak and/or corrupt governments to sign onto its initiative, signing away exorbitant loans for megainfrastructural projects. Several countries that signed onto China’s Belt and Road initiative are finding this out the hard way.
ing concerns about costs, erosion of sovereignty, and corruption.
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Junior page CRAFT SUPPLIES FOR PAPER BUNNY CRAFT
Sometimes just let it be
O
nce Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Please get me some water from that lake there”.
The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing the lake right at the edge of it. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink?!” So he
FUN WITH POETRY
Help others and you help yourself I know I feel nice when someone gives me something, And when others help me in some way; I know it feels good when people smile at me, And tell me words that make me feel gay. This means that I should also try To do the same for others what I can, I should not only seek to get for myself, But do my best to help everyone. First I must obey my parents at home, And try to keep brothers and sisters happy, Next do what I can from my friends, And then seek ways to help anybody. The great thing is that when I try To help others and make them feel the best, I find that I myself gain so much That it makes me feel the greatest.
came back and told the Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink”. So, the Buddha said, let us take a little rest here by the tree. After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the Buddha. The Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See, You let the water be and the mud settled down on its own. You got a clear water. It didn’t require any effort”. Moral: Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. We can judge and take best decisions of our life when we stay calm.
* Rotary paper cutter (or a ruler and scissors) * White school glue * Pastel card stock * Wiggly eyes * Mini pom poms * Large heart paper punch * Small heart paper punch * Petals paper punch HOW TO MAKE A PAPER BUNNY CRAFT Making a paper bunny craft is easy and fun when you use paper punches! Our simple directions and stepby-step tutorial is simple for both kids and adults to follow along with. STEP 1: PREPARE THE PAPER 1. After gathering supplies, use the rotary cutter to make a 1 ½” x 113 paper strip. Fold the ends of the paper strip towards the middle as pictured below. Glue the 2 flaps together to create a 3D half circle shape. 2. Next, punch out 2 large hearts and 1 small heart. Use the petals paper punch to punch petals out of your main colored paper and pink (for the inner part of your bunny’s ears.) The petals paper punch has 3 different sizes, so you will have to punch each paper twice. Keep the large petals of your main colored paper, and the small petals of the pink paper. STEP 2: GLUE THE PAPER 1. Glue the small pink petals onto the large petals to
Suguru The heavy lines indicate areas, called cages, from one to five squares in size. Fill each cage with unique digits, counting up from 1. So for example a 2-square cage contains the numbers 1
and 2; and a 5-square cage contains the numbers from 1 to 5. Adjacent (touching) squares, even ones that touch diagonally, may never contain the same number.
make ears for your bunny, cut 1 of your large hearts in half (you will end up with 2 tear dropped shapes), then use scissors to round the point of your other heart. 2. To make the bunny’s feet, glue the teardrop paper shapes and the small heart to the flat bottom of your bunny’s body as pictured below. Cut a short paper strip and fold it like an accordion 4 times. Glue it to the front of the bunny’s body. 3. Next, glue the bunny’s ears to the back of the rounded heart.
STEP 3: MAKE THE BUNNY’S FACE AND TAIL 1. Glue 2 wiggly eyes and a pom pom nose to the bunny’s face, then use a black felt tip pen to make whiskers. Glue the bunny’s head to the accordion fold paper strip. 2. Last, glue a pom pom to the back of the bunny for the tail. Repeat with many colors! These little bunnies are so much fun. If you tap their heads, they bobble up and down.
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Make your life matter YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CORNER by doing your utmost to help others TEEN TIME
T
here are many ways by which you can make your life more worthy, some of which we have been dealing with in the weeks past in our discourses about self-improvement. However, there is one way in which we can do this in an unselfish manner, and that is by looking out continuously to find how you can help others, both on the long and short terms. I am sure you can think now of instances when you have seen someone close to you acting in a manner that can lead to some negative result. If you had helped that person to behave better, then you would have been able to see how rewarding this was to that person, as well as the satisfaction it gave you for having spent your time and energy to do something unselfish.
There are also other ways in which you can reach out to your friends and lead them into understanding your approach to the proper solution of the problems they would be faced with in their everyday lives.
One way by which you can make this an ongoing process is to start a discussion group in which you get those who are members of any group to which you belong to interact and spread your ideas of
good behaviour. Getting this group to meet on a regular basis, say weekly, at a determined venue, can provide a guarantee that personal problems will be discussed with the object of finding proper solutions. You can get someone who is respected by your group’s members from the church or other organisation in your area to speak to your group when you meet. This will make it an ongoing exercise that will be of immense benefit to the members as they develop and share a culture of good behaviour Think of the value to our nation if this system were to be adopted by every community, and I am now proposing that we all make a serious attempt to work towards achieving this, and make our voices heard in this endeavour.
U
ncle Roy is devoting this section of the Junior Page, originally POETS CORNER, to foster his proposition in TEEN TIME that we should start a nationwide movement by which an organisation be developed in each community in our country with the specific aim of getting our youths to interact on a regular basis, and share their views on improvement of members in the various aspects of their lives. I am also soliciting those in authority, nationally and communally, to help in this effort to get these entities established and run efficiently. I am certain that there are enough youths in
each area with the ability, the goodwill, and the commitment to make this a reality. I am sure we all agree that this will ensure that we shall gain tremendously, not only in the benefit that our young people will reap now, but this will go a long way towards their becoming better citizens in the future, which will help our nation in its all-round development. I am now making a general request to our citizens at all levels to share their views on this proposal. If you have any ideas to contribute to this proposition, please get in touch by email with Uncle R o y : roypaul2002@yahoo.com
Each of us can make a big difference in the progress of our nation when we see the need to join with others in this effort.
Solutions to last week’s
Cross figure
Killer Sudoku Killer Sudoku (also called Sum Sudoku) are a kind of hybrid puzzle that combine the best features of Sudoku and Kakuro (cross-sum) puzzles. Like a regular Sudoku, the rows, columns and 3x3 blocks contain the digits 1 thru 9. In addition, the dotted lines indicate areas, called cages, which also contain a set of non-repeating digits. If you add up the digits in a cage, you get the sum shown in its clue.
Binox
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PHAGWAH MESSAGES Message from President, Irfaan Ali Message from Leader of the On behalf of my family and I, I extend greetings to all Guyanese, but especially to our Hindu brothers and sisters, on this joyous occasion of Phagwah. This is one of the country’s most colourful and cheerful festivals. It is enjoyed by persons of all ethnic persuasions and marked by public outpourings of fun, joy and happiness. This year’s observances, however, have had to be moderated on account of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the spiritual significance of this resplendent festival remains undiminished. Phagwah reminds us that our lives are like the seasons – subject to fortune, uncertainty and vicissitudes – but that renewal and rebirth fol-
lows every unwelcome circumstance.Phagwah is a celebration of rebirth. It commemorates the regeneration of the land. Also known as Holi or Phagwah is a time to renew our relations with and to reconcile with friends and family. The festival provides an opportunity to recommit to the values of love, friendship, empathy and sharing. As we celebrate Holi, let us continue to exercise the discipline and restraint which are imperative at this time to overcome the pandemic. The vaccination campaign, which we have launched, will help to protect our people and, eventually, allow us to exit this pandemic. Of that we can be sure! We can be confident that
Opposition, Joseph Harmon
His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali by next year, we shall be able to return to the exuberant public celebrations traditionally associated with this most splendid and glorious festival.Happy Holi to all Guyanese! Be safe, stay strong and let’s do this within the guidelines of COVID-19. God Bless you all!
I take this opportunity to extend greetings on behalf of the Parliamentary Opposition APNU+AFC Coalition, to all Guyanese, particularly, our Hindu brothers and sisters, as we celebrate this joyous festival of Phagwah or Holi. Holi, the festival of colours, is celebrated each year with zeal and enthusiasm in the Hindu month Phalgun. Over the years, this spring festival has been embraced by persons of all walks of life, as it ushers the Hindu New Year. With the overflow of positive energy, people come together in camaraderie to celebrate this festival. There is also a solemn religious significance. It marks the destruction of evil in the embodiment of Holika and the triumph of the forces of good. For Hindus, on the eve of
Holi, known as Holika Dahan, special prayers and offerings are made to the fire God, Agni Devta, to express gratitude for the success in farming. The singing of chowtaals, smearing of colours, clashing of ‘jaals,’ creates a conductive environment to remove all forms of negativity. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions in place, this festival will not be celebrated with its usual merriment. Nonetheless, my message to all Guyanese is to use this occasion to reflect on the strides we have made to break cultural and social barriers. This, like many other religious festivals transcends all boundaries and is now celebrated throughout Guyana as a national festival. May we also be reminded
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon. this Holi, that good always triumphs over evil and that we must always use the opportunities which present themselves in a positive way. May the fun, friendship and camaraderie associated with Holi be extended to your daily lives, your homes and to your communities. I wish all Guyanese a safe and happy Holi.
MESSAGE FROM THE ETHNIC RELATIONS COMMISSION The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) takes this opportunity to extend to all Guyanese, especially our Hindu brothers and sisters, greetings on the occasion of Phagwah or Holi; a national holiday. Over time, this event has transcended religious boundaries to become a truly and much anticipated national festival. It is one that serves to bring Guyanese from all walks of life together as evident by the sense of fun and frolic that have become its hallmark. However, this year’s observances are hampered by COVID-19 and the Commission urges all to celebrate with restraint, but internalize its significance. Significant is its underlying messages of the triumph of good over evil as
exemplified by the story of Prahalad and which continues to be an inspiration for the advancement of humanity. Characteristic of this joyous occasion is the plethora of colours that mix and engulf the landscape. That not only signifies the advent of spring and the blooming of flowers, but in the context of our dear nation, a demonstration of the vibrant intertwining of our rich diversity that creates that enviable and beautiful kaleidoscope that defines who we are as a people. It is a reflection of what can be achieved from a combination of efforts, as we endeavor together for the realization of our national motto. It is also demonstrative of how as a nation we embrace our cultural diversity. That there-
fore, offers pertinent lessons for us all and an impetus for increased and sustained efforts to build upon our strengths and improve on weaknesses. It allows for the enhancement of our capacity to overcome inherent challenges to foster togetherness. The Commission also takes this opportunity to urge utmost respect for the occasion and for it to be observed and celebrated as advised by the authorities. Phagwah also marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year; it therefore offers us all that opportunity to take stock in gauging our strengths and weaknesses and for the imbuing of a sense of renewal of our well-intended endeavours. SHUBH HOLI TO ALL!
Message from Message from the People’s National the People’s Congress Progressive Party The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) takes this opportunity to extend greetings to all Guyanese, especially our brothers and sisters of the Hindu communities, here and in the Diaspora, on the occasion of Phagwah or Holi. This joyous occasion has become a truly national festival that Guyanese from all spheres of society look forward to and participate in. Like our other national observances, Phagwah encourages the coming together of our people in the various events that are associated with it. Heralding the season of Spring, the kaleidoscope of colours epitomizes our nation’s rich diversity, in a demonstration of a vibrant fusion. Unfortunately, the usual vibrant celebrations across our dear land will be curtailed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Party urges that all necessary precautions are taken, including wearing of masks, social (Continued on page 61)
The People’s National Congress Reform extends greetings to all Hindu devotees and to Guyanese citizens everywhere on the occasion of the joyous festival of Phagwah. Phagwah is an ancient observance that still has sacred and secular significance in presentday Guyana and is enjoyed by everyone. Its sacred significance has been related through the ages by the stories of the trials and triumph of Prahalad, which remind us, today, of the virtue of a steadfast belief in God and the eventual triumph of good over evil. Phagwah’s secular significance rests in celebrating the regeneration of nature, the fertility of the land and the bountiful harvest which it provides to mankind. Phagwah’s social and cultural significance can be seen in the way that it has broken down the barriers of separation, suspicion and insecurity in society. It is a festival of social cohesion that (Continued on page 61)
Sunday March 28, 2021
==CONSUMER CONCERNS==
HAPPY PHAGWAH TO ALL! By Pat Dial mediately attacked Hiranya Phagwah is the most ancient festival celebrated in Guyana, since its origin could be dated some 5,000 years ago. Like all such ancient festivals, many layers of traditions have become embedded on it with the passing of the centuries and Phagwah is particularly rich in such traditions. It has a purely celebratory strand as a Spring Festival and a New Year Festival. As a Spring Festival, people would have reaped their crops and have prepared to sow again, thus ensuring their economic wellbeing for the next year. As a New Year celebration, it marks a new beginning, with new life and energy. The Iranian New Year, Nowruz, comes about the same time as Phagwah, both of which are lunar holy days. Then there is a moral and religious strand teaching that evil, no matter how powerful, will be eventually be eliminated. And lastly, there is a political strand which condemns governments which oppress its people as shown in the case of Hiranya Kasipu and Rawan. All these traditions and strands become so fused in the modern celebrations of Phagwah as to be indistinguishable. We will touch on the story of King Hiranya Kasipu. He practiced extreme religious penance or Tapasya, which won the recognition of God and he was offered three boons. He chose never to be killed by man or animal; never to be killed by night or day; and never to be killed anywhere on earth. He had become immortal and developed into a megalomaniac, where he felt he was God. He ordered all his subjects to worship him as God on pain of death if they did not. His young son, Prahalad, refused to worship him as God and continued to worship Lord Vishnu. The King was furious and decided to have him killed. He therefore built a huge pyre and had his sister, Holika, whom fire could not harm, sit on the pyre with Prahalad on her lap and then lit the flames. When the conflagration subsided, Holika was burnt to ashes but Prahalad was unharmed. Thus the festival is also called ‘Holi.’ The King was furious and visited the main temple to ascertain the congregation was worshipping him and as he strutted about shouting, if there was any other God than he, let that God come and engage him. In so doing, he slashed one of the columns of the temple with his sword and as he did so, Lord Vishnu in the Outar or form of a manlion, later known as Narsimha or Narsingh, emerged and im-
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Kasipu. In the struggle, they fell on the steps of the temple and Narsingh managed to grab hold of the throat of the king, raised him off the ground and throttled him. Hiranya Kasipu was thus killed neither by man nor animal, was suspended off the earth and since it was dusk, it was neither night nor day. The people of the kingdom broke into spontaneous celebration, merging their Spring festival and New Year celebrations, joyously sprinkling each other with coloured water and feasted together, ushering in the modern Phagwah. The other strong Phagwah tradition in Guyana is the lighting of diyas or small earthen ware lamps in every home and along every path. The king of Ayodhya had three sons from three queens. The eldest, Lord Rama, was heir to the throne, but the second queen wished her son, Bharat, to succeed to the throne and so arranged for Lord Rama to be sent into exile for 14 years to the forests. It was while in the forests that his wife, Sita, was kidnapped by Rawan, which led to a war with Lanka, Rawan’s kingdom. Bharat was a man of moral purity and governed in Ram’s name and when he returned, the people celebrated by illuminating every town and village. Thus, the tradition of diyas. Phagwah had long been an inclusive festival in India, where every caste, class, colour and even religion participated and when it arrived in Guyana, it immediately became an integrative force encompassing all races and religions. Though it became a public holiday after Independence, in colonial times, many businesses closed in honour of the day, including the Sugar Industry, the largest employer in the country. The story of its being designated a public holiday would be told in another offering of this column since a few of our surviving members were deeply involved in the creation of the new holiday structure, which included the Hindu and Muslim holy days. The Covid-19 pandemic and its regulations have greatly constrained the celebrations, but the spirit of Phagwah still pervades and homes will still be illuminated, sweetmeats would be exchanged and meals provided for those in need. We wish our readers and the public in general, a Happy Phagwah and a New Year where all your wishes would be satisfied. (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Message from the People’s Progressive... From page 60 distancing and compliance with guidelines issued by the COVID-19 Task Force. This is of utmost importance, even as the COVID vaccination programme is being rolled out across the country.Further, the People’s Progressive Party urges that we be inspired by the significance of Phagwah, through its pertinent messages which speaks to, in general, the triumph of good over evil. This message becomes even more relevant on reflection of how our coun-
try and people navigated and overcame the various challenges faced within the past year.Let us be motivated by what this colourful festival signifies and be emboldened in hope that, through resoluteness in the face of adversity and despondency, the messages of Phagwah speaks to truth inevitably prevailing. As Guyanese mark the occasion, our Party once again extends best wishes and urges caution, tolerance and respect in the celebrations. Shubh Holi to all!
Message from the People’s... From page 60 enriches the country’s multicultural character. The People’s National Congress Reform, on this happy occasion, g reets all
Guyanese – regardless of their race, religion, region of residence, social rank, political persuasion or wealth – to eschew hatred and to contribute to the common good by strengthening social cohesion. Happy Phagwah!
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Local filmmaker opens casting...
LAND FOR SALE
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SERVICES WANTED Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Graphics design, advertisements, Wedding arch rentals. Tel: 626-7040 House plan drawing and estimate K. Lakeram building contractor Call 216-0671/ 6928464/ Whatsapp 622-0267 Installation, Repairs and parts for AC,Fridge, Washing machine, Stove etc.Call Nick #630-1600.
FOR RENT fully furnishd apartment hot & cold water system installed eccles, victoria Ave Tel#6280016 2 bedroom unfurnished house to let @ 2 Smyth street Call June 623-1562 Business: Hadfeild street, Safon street Residence: North Ruimveldt Georgetown Contact Ray's Realty 627-9785 Luxury apartment 2 or 3 bedroom fully furnished for rent properties, apartments Tel#664-8641, 682-2585, office 219- 2815
Farm workers in Timehri tel#661-1585/ 617-2032 1 dental nurse/ assistant apply to, C. Persaud dental 14 Peter's Hall, EBD email: svpersaud25@gmail.com Tel#233-5137/ 5927 or 6932565 Kitchen assistant to work in resturant in Mazaruni River Tel# 677-0869 Parbo One experience carpenter (with tools) for ECD, RJD Construction Tel#614-7669 1 experience carpenter (with tools) for Providence Garden EBD RJD Construction Guyana Tel#614-7669
Male looking for serious relationship with female. age 2035 years. Contact 608-6288 Hauler truck available for hire R & R Trading Call 661-1254/ 659-1771 Wanted wash bay workers between 18-25 Tel#678-3160
Qualify yourself in Cosmetology & Nail technology pakages starting from $25,000 classes commence: April 12,2021 Call Abby 6176751
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Cashiers to work at superbet Tel#691-7123 1 able bodied sales clerk ARK Enterprise Tel#227-3580 Sales assistant 5 subjects cxc experience in stock taking, Paye, Payroll, salesmanship skill keyfood Mcdoom village next post office. 1 Female counter clerk, Creative Jewellery & Pawn shop 46 Boyles place stabroek Brickdam Tel#231-7878, 2238955
Commercial property for sale or rent Providence old road Call 623-3440 / 233-5600
EDUCATION
From page 17 knowledge from regional and international producers, directors, actors, and cinematographers. According to the filmmaker, “Whatever I learned about visual storytelling was just hours of watching tutorials and then going out to shoot short films.” “Shooting a film is tough because it is the most expensive art-form. You need a team to make a film work and that takes money. It is challenging but challenges can be overcome with determination to see dreams come through,” Wiltshire said adding, “fortunately, the Commonwealth Caribbean Voices Project wants to see stories that are not seen regularly.” Looking forward to the project, Wiltshire said he is proud of the feat since not many filmmakers are given an opportunity or have infrastructure to build upon locally. “I believe in creating opportunities for myself even if a country does not value my craft. I have achieved that and am excited to direct this film with a cast and crew, I will be able to compensate and I am looking forward to not doing almost every job on a film set,” he added.
For porter apply at Alabama Trading 65 Robb Street Space to rent in Georgetown Bourda. for small resturant Call 623One female cleaner to clean 8070 store apply at Alabama TradWanted experience hire car ing 65 Robb Street Bourda drivers at Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel Contact 616- Maid to cook and clean for the East Bank area Call 615-9132 5419/ 690-2242
PROPERTY FOR SALE
Sheriff street, pattensen / turkeyen, Diamond/ Grove, Zeelught, Utvlugt & Enterprise ECD, Qeenstown Contact Ray's Realty 627-9785
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
VACANCY One general domestic Call 623-1615 Vacancy exists for a cook in the interior , 40yrs & over Tel#602-0502/ 681-1443/ 6720083 Taxi and Bus Drivers Call 6281185/ 225-3234
Motorcyclist killed after crashing into minibus From page 18 minibus travelling in front of him.The bus driver said that he felt a hard impact to the back of his vehicle and stopped right away. The aftermath of the collision depicted in a video seen by this newspaper can only be described as horrifying. Eyewitnesses said that the impact flung Pitt into the air and sent flying through the back windscreen of the minibus. The video showed that the back windscreen of
the bus was completely shattered as Pitt was left hanging on the back seat. The upper half of his body was slumped over into the minibus, while the latter half hung outside. Public spirit citizens assisted in removing the still conscious man from that position. As they lifted him off, it could be seen in the video that his right leg was severely broken. He was rushed to the hospital but lost consciousness when he arrived there. Doctors admitted him and
began treating him; he sustained severe head injuries and a broken rib cage. Despite efforts to save his life, he passed away. Pitt better as Brooklyn, was a local veteran footballer, who was still active in the sport. According to Junior Forrester, an active member of the Veteran Football Body in Guyana, Pitt was a “fast, hungry, goal forward” in the field. Pitt has participated in a number of Veteran Football events up until the time of his death.
Sunday March 28, 2021
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Consumers play key role to ensure accurate measurements in trade
>>>GNBS IN FOCUS<<<
Do you purchase items and is confident that you are receiving the correct measurement as paid for? In our daily lives as consumers, many of our purchases are based on the confidence we have in our national measurement system, which ensures the accurate quantities of goods are provided. In Guyana, a legislative and practical enforcement programme governed by the 1981 Weights & Measures Act, is in place to ensure the accuracy and reliability of measurements for commodities used in trade. This objective is achieved by ensuring that all weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade are verified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS)
under its Legal Metrology Programme. These devices are examined to determine fitness for use and are tested to ensure accuracy. Devices verified and stamped by the GNBS include: all scales, masses and measures, storage tanks flow meters, electricity meters and petrol pumps. Also included, are devices used at shops, markets, supermarkets, in the rice and sugar industries, fisheries, manufacturing companies, hospitals and health centres, airlines and shipping companies and post offices. Although the Bureau has been executing its mandate, consumers have meaningful roles to play, which would guarantee that they are not given short weights and mea-
sures. The following are ten of these roles: 1. Buy goods from vendors who are using verified scales and other verified devices. If used properly, approved devices give correct weights or measures. 2. Look for GNBS verification seals on devices. An affixed GNBS seal is one way of determining whether a device (scale) was verified. 3. Make sure the device used to weigh or measure your goods is clean. Dirty devices can cause the contamination of goods and often give inaccurate weights and measures. 4. Ensure that the scale is positioned in a manner, which will allow you to see the measuring indicator during the weighing process.
5. Do not buy from vendors or shopkeepers using the domestic (kitchen) scales. These scales often referred to
as the ‘blue scales’ are not approved for commercial trade because their internal mechanisms are quickly worn,
hence they give inaccurate weights. 6. Do not accept purchase (Continued on page 64)
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
Consumers play key role to ensure... From page 63 if you have doubts about your weight or measure. 7. Buy in metric quantities. Most devices used in the marketplace are in metric units and by requesting goods in metric quantities, you are as-
sured of the quantity of goods issued to you. 8. Buy all solids by weight instead of measure. Rice, peas and channa are solid goods and all solids must be weighed, not measured. Request these goods in
grammes and kilograms. 9. Buy prepackaged goods that are labelled with the quantity (net contents). For example, 450 g, 1 kg, 3 litres, etc. 10. Call the GNBS hotline or visit the Weights and Measures Office in your Region and make your complaints, if the need arises. For further information, please contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190069, 219-0065, 219-0062 or visit the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org
Sunday March 28, 2021
Kaieteur News
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Sunday March 28, 2021
BCB delegation visits Upper Corentyne area to meet clubs - Registration of players for 2021 season completed The long standing problem of registration of players playing in the Upper Corentyne area was resolved on Tuesday last when President of the Berbice Cricket Board, Hilbert Foster led an eight man delegation to meet with the clubs in the area. Representatives of twenty six clubs were present at the meeting which was chaired by President of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association, Dennis D’Andrade. Members of the BCB delegation included Vice President Albert Smith, Treasurer Dr Cecil Beharry, Asst Secretary Ameer
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Kaieteur News
Rahaman, Public Relations Officer Simon Naidu and Chairman of the Competition Committee Leslie Solomon. Foster noted that the main problem in the area was the registration of players and the habit of players leaving clubs regularly and in some cases, players representing as much as three clubs in the calendar year. The BCB with the support of the UCCA organised the meeting to resolve the problem, so that the packed cricket season for the area can start. Foster, who was on his eighty first visit to the sub association since his election as BCB President, told the
players that once they were registered with a club for 2020, they would have to play out the year with that club. No more request for transfers would be accepted in 2020, while players who desire to move to another club in 2022, would have to follow the BCB guidelines of obtaining permission from their old club and acceptance from the one, they are seeking to play for. The BCB delegation worked along with each of the clubs on their lists and apart from two minor objections, the process went smoothly. Over four hundred players were registered during the two hours session.
Sunday March 28, 2021 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Get on the fast track and use your powerful words and creative mind to make quick decisions that are mindful yet spontaneous. TAURUS(Apr.20–May20) Start the day with some vigorous yoga and then some meditation to help clear your mind. Stretch your body and get the blood flowing through all of your limbs. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Do something for the community today, , and really consider how your talents and skills can best be put to work. Consider volunteering at a school or library. CANCER (June 21–July 22) If you're having trouble tackling a giant problem, Cancer, don't get discouraged or overwhelmed. They key for you is to break things down into smaller chunks, analyze them, and figure out their role within the greater whole. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) If you're having trouble tackling a giant problem, don't get discouraged or overwhelmed. They key for you is to break things down into smaller chunks, analyze them, and figure out their role within the greater whole. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Imagination and fantasy play a big part in your thinking today, Virgo, and you shouldn't hesitate to embrace this frame of mind.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Engage more of your rational mind today, Libra. If your mind continues on its track into a fantasy world, you might consider enlisting the help of people who can help you bring some discipline to your situation. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Suppose you were someone else for a day, Scorpio. How would it feel to be treated the way you normally treat other people? This is a good time to put yourself in someone else's shoes and experience life through their eyes. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today your thoughts may turn to fashion and the different ways in which you can improve your wardrobe. Don't be afraid to create a look that reflects your true inner spirit. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) The amazing thing about your nature is that, like a good politician, you have just the right tone of voice and catch phrase for every situation. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You're apt to get the feeling that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence today, Aquarius. Try not to get too hung up on this. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your mind may wander to a fantasyland full of castles, wizards, and magic dragons today. You could find that you're putting yourself in the robes of a beautiful or handsome figure.
The BCB President informed the clubs of the major plans for the Upper Corentyne area for 2021. This includes at least four cricket tournaments, a mini cricket academy, coaching clinics, assistance for clubs and an educational scholarship for a cricketer who attends the University of Guyana. Clubs in the area have already benefitted from donations of cricket balls, cricket gears, scorebooks, trophies and catching cribs from the BCB this year. Two weeks ago, eight clubs in the area received $1.4 M worth of gears from an overseas donor. The UCCA and BCB in early April would be hosting the Vishu Super Store 40 overs and the Vitality 20/20 knockout tournaments. Teams were also encouraged to register for upcoming tournaments that would start shortly at the Under 19, Under 21, Under 23, Under 13, Intermediate, county wide second division and female tournaments. The BCB delegation also discussed the area participation in first division cricket and the debarring of players. The Skeldon Community Centre Cricket Club received a financial donation from the board to assist it to purchase gears, while the UCCA also collected a large amount of kites that would be distributed to children in the area as part of their outreach programme. Several clubs, who did not attend the recent Shimron Hetmeyer Trust Fund Programme, also collected their donation of cricket balls and scorebooks. Foster at the end of the meeting, urged the teams to remain united, disciplined and to work along with the management of the UCCA. He specially mentioned the outstanding work of the UCCA President and Vice President Sydney Jackman, who at the age of eighty years continues to be a livewire of energy and commitment. UCCA President Dennis D’Andrade expressed gratitude to Foster for his hard work and special emphasis on cricket in his sub association.
...Players motivated to From page 68 balanced. We must be very calculated in our offensive and defensive plays. So I think the players are very motivated to change the situation and take us back in the race.” Training will continue today and tomorrow ahead of Tuesday’s clash.
...Raffik Construction, Asphalt, From page 66 Tigers are the defending champion for the Premium Asphalt/TR Construction 20/20. The BCB President expressed thanks to both sponsors for coming on board and reassured them that both tournaments would be well organised and would be completed within three months, once the weather does not intervene. He spoke of the importance of second division cricket in the county as it allows the younger players to play with more seasoned ones while providing opportunities to the older players to be still involved in the game. Close to one hundred clubs in the county plays at the second division level in Berbice, with twenty four in the Lower/Central Corentyne area. Among the clubs slated to play in the two tournaments are Kennard Memorial, Kildonan, Ramnarine Memorial, Whim, Tain Block
Four, Port Mourant, Hampshire, Sand Reef, Fyrish, Courtland, Chesney, No I Road, Belvedere United, Nigg Intruders, Jai Hind and Albion Open. Berbice cricket powerhouses Albion and the RHTYSC would be debarred from the 20/20 Tournament but would play in the Raffik Contstruction 100 balls tournament. Foster disclosed that this is part of the effort to allow smaller clubs the opportunity to win a BCB title. Teams would be allowed to play two first division players per match, while players below the age of twenty three years would not be considered first division players. All teams are also warned that all of their players have to attired in whites and only Berbicians are allowed to play in the tournaments. Additionally, teams and players are expected to follow the covid 19 guidelines laid down by the BCB or they would face disciplinary action.
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Sunday March 28, 2021
BCB 2021 Cricket Season
Raffik Construction, Asphalt, T/R Construction on board as sponsorship continues The Berbice Cricket Board {BCB} continues to attract sponsorship for its cricket tournaments. The pro active cricket board has plans to hosts about forty tournaments at the different levels and has already successfully completed eighteen finals over the last two months. All of the tournaments are been played
under the Government of Guyana Covid 19 guidelines. On Thursday last, the BCB officially launched another two tournaments for teams in the Lower/ Central Corentyne area. The first was the fourth edition of the Raffik Construction 100 balls second division tournament. The second is
the Premium Asphalt and TR Construction 20/20 second division tournament. Both tournaments would be played among teams in the Lower Corentyne area and forms part of the BCB internal zone programme. BCB President Hilbert Foster has committed the board to organising a minimum of three
tournaments every year for each of the five zones- West B e r b i c e , N e w Amsterdam/Canje, Lower /Central Corentyne, Upper Corentyne and Berbice River. R o s e H a l l To w n Bakewell are the defending champion for the Raffik Cup, while Rose Hall Town (Continued on page 65)
Mr. T. Jadgeo (right) of TR Construction hands over sponsorship to BCB PRO Simon Naidu.
Kaieteur News
Sunday March 28, 2021
BCB Invites applications for first ever Vitality Inc Upper Corentyne Educational Scholarship The Berbice Cricket Board at the start of 2021 had committed to providing educational scholarships for cricketers in the four major sub areas in the county. BCB President Hilbert Foster had stated that his board would obtain sponsorship for scholarships for youths in We s t B e r b i c e , N e w Amsterdam/Canje, Lower Corentyne and Upper Corentyne. The BCB has already handed out a one year educational scholarship to Naeem Khan from the Lower Corentyne area at the
cost of two hundred thousand dollars, while eight students from the New Amsterdam/Canje sub zone benefitted from educational grants. These programmes were sponsored by Minister of Agriculture Zulifar Mustapha and West Indies player Shimron Hetmeyer respectively. The board has now obtained the support of Mr Sureain Sawh of Vitality Inc, an overseas based Guyanese company which recently opened a branch in the Ramnaresh Sarwan Mall, located at Providence, East
Bank Demerara. The company would be donating two hundred thousand dollars towards a one year grant to a cricketer attending the University of Guyana. The funds would be used towards the payment of the cricketer student fees at the University. The BCB is therefore inviting players in the area to apply for the first ever BCB/Vitality Educational Scholarship. Interested persons must be living between the NO 43 to Moleson Creek catchment area and must be an active
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Mr Sureain Sawh and Directors of Vitality Inc.
member of one of the twenty six clubs in the Upper Corentyne area. Applications must be submitted by the 15th of April to the BCB office in Charlotte Street, New Amsterdam. The application must include proof that the applicant is a student at the university, their CSEC r e s u l t s , t w o recommendations along with a letter from a cricket club in the area confirming
membership. In the event that a suitable candidate is not found, the funds would be distributed to eight cricketers attending secondary schools. Foster, who was elected President of the BCB in 2018, has made it quite clear that he strongly believes that all cricketers in the county must make education a top priority in life as not everyone of them would succeed on the cricket field.
He has also constantly stated that an educated mind thinks faster in moments of crisis. Over the last three years, hundreds of cricketers have received educational materials, school bags, bicycles and financial assistance towards their educational careers. The BCB is expected to announce shortly, plans to assist cricketers in the West Berbice area with educational grants.
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Chance on podium - Natricia Hooper for pro-debut excels at NCAA
Sunday March 28, 2021
The gear donated is displayed prior to the official hand over.
Dinar Trading throws support behind Airy Hall Sports Club - CEO impressed with club’s youths offers help
Guyana’s Joanna Archer of Texas Tech ran a personal best time. Yesterday at the Weems Baskin Invitational at the University of South Carolina, Guyana’s Arinze Chance got off his professional career with a flying start to finish in second place in the men’s 400m final. Chance, who is the holder of Guyana’s men’s national indoor 400m record, registered an impressive time of 46.62s to finish just behind Abayie Opuni who was one tenth of a second faster than the Guyanese. The quarter-mile sprinter, who is aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics needs to hit 44.9s to make the Olympic Standard but he is not too fazed since this is his first race of the season in which he chose to not go all out. Chance was happy to make the podium on his first professional race and gave
thanks as usual. In an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, he mentioned, “Thank God, family and close friends for encouraging me through the pandemic and for the first race in a while. Looking forward to more races because it’s definitely looking great for the next months to come. The splits were what I expected them to be. It was more a cautious race than anything else. Working on new race tactics is harder when you have a limited amount of races so I’m trying to execute the stuff from practice as well as I can in every race I compete in.” Meanwhile, over in the NCAA, Guyana’s Natricia Hooper continued her impressive showing on the NCAA Division One Track & Field Circuit, with an impressive leap in the women’s triple jump that earned her second place. Hooper, who outfits for
the University of South Florida, jumped a personal best (PB) distance of 13.63m to make the podium at the FSU replays in Tallahassee on Friday. In an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, Hooper announced that it’s her, “First time competing in the outdoor season since 2018. I’m happy that I’m healthy and was able to compete and finished with a personal best.” The student-athlete continued, “… with me doing a surgery in October and recovering in such a short period, I’m happy with the progress, but not satisfied because I know that I still a lot more work to be do.” Meanwhile, Guyana’s Joanna Archer of Texas Tech ran a personal best time of 2minutes 8 seconds to finish third overall in the women’s 800m in the NCAA Texas Relays in Austin Texas.
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Players motivated to turn tide around as training resumes after T&T clash - Máximo By Franklin Wilson in the Dominican Republic, compliments of Secure Innovations & Concepts, Industrial Safety Supplies Inc., Fazia’s Motor Spares and GFF It was back to training yesterday afternoon for the ‘Golden Jaguars’ following their loss to old rivals Trinidad and Tobago in their opening Group F clash of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying competition here in the Dominican Republic. The performance of the team against the ‘Soca Warriors’ was way below the standard expected of the ‘Golden Jaguars’ but that’s
all behind the team now as they focus on their next assignment, Bahamas on Tuesday at the Olympico Felix Sanchez Stadium from 15:00hrs. Head Coach, Márcio Máximo told Kaieteur Sport that the mood in the camp is good as he discussed the performance of the team in frank terms with the players who have accepted that their performance was below par. Nonetheless, their focus is now on the Bahamas and yesterday’s session at the Ashton Sport Complex was geared towards correcting some of the shortcomings that showed up in the T&T match.
“I think that the players have recovered well and we had a good training session today (yesterday) as usual. When we reviewed the Trinidad game we saw it was very equal but we conceded easy goals. The game was very equal and I used this argument to motivate the players for the next game.” The lead tactician shared that the next game will see a re-energised performance from the team and more focus not to concede goals. “I told them of their responsibility and the fact that we will not underestimate Bahamas and we should be organised and (Continued on page 65)
Dinar Trading of Lot 1 Lamaha and Cummings Streets, Alberttown, Georgetown this past week gave tangible support to the Airy Hall Sports Club of Airy Hall, Mahaica on the East Coast of Demerara. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Gold Trading establishment, Mohamed Iqbal Hussain, arranged a set of football gears for the youths of the club who were in need of the gear. A happy bunch of youngsters expressed gratitude for the donation by the entity. The donation included football uniforms, footballs, training cones, bibs, shin guards, goalkeeping gloves, gears bag and football hose among others and were presented by Clifton Singh on behalf of Dinar Trading to the talented young player Eon Able Jnr. in the presence of club members and several officials of the business house. The CEO disclosed that they were very happy to support this club as part of their corporate responsibility. He noted that more so after spotting the
talent of these youngsters, noting that he was especially impressed with young Abel, he had to lend the help. Iqbal, as he is popularly known, stated that Dinar Trading will continue to offer support to the club, but told the youngsters that this will only happen once they continue good performances and remain disciplined. Iqbal informed that this initial partnership with the Airy Hall Sports Club will see his company adopting the club for an initial one year period which will be reviewed and once the members keep their end of the bargain of being disciplined and show good performances, then the arrangement will continue. A gleeful bunch of young footballers were pleased with their gear and pledged to continue improving. They are keen to participate in East Coast Demerara Football Association tournaments. Of recent they have been playing some football in Berbice and have shown much promise and the ability to improve.
Petra equipping itself for return to play
T
he pioneers of organising Youth Football in Guyana, Petra Organisation, has welcomed the news of the Government’s massive upcoming vaccination campaign, since it would allow for the return of normalcy not only for sport particularly but for everything that has been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic. With the focus currently on frontline health workers and persons 60 years and above for COVID-19 vaccination, President Irfaan A l i o n We d n e s d a y announced a large vaccination drive that will now target persons 40 years and older, starting next week. In an address to the nation, where he appealed to citizens to take the pandemic seriously by adhering to the established protocols and guidelines, Dr. Ali said the government is currently looking to procure another 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, in order for Guyana to attain herd immunity.
In an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport, codirector of the Petra Organisation, Troy Mendonca, noted that coincidentally members of Petra had met earlier in the week to discuss and implement ways in which they can equip themselves to return to play whenever the go ahead is given by the National Covid-19 Task Force. Petra Organisation promotes majorly school football and the imminent return of students to school is another boost that competitive football may be just around the corner. For the 2021 season, Petra will be looking to complete the 2019 Milo Schools’ football tournament with consideration to being made for the eligibility of players registered. According to Mendonca, Petra are also eyeing the popular boys’ and girls’ under-11 peewee tournaments, in addition to having the third edition of the Guyoil School football league played. The organiser is
Troy Mendonca, co-director of the Petra Organisation. cognisant of the fact that safety comes first and declared that it is not an announcement to roll out any event but rather a move by the body to become compliant and well-trained in regards to enforcing covid-19 regulations whenever the nation would be ready to return to competitive football. Before the pandemic, Petra Organisation was responsible for the promotion of 10 tournaments yearly, namely, Limacol 11a-side, Turbo Knockout, Milo Schools’ under-18, Courts and Smalta boys’ and girls’ peewee, Futsal, ExxonMobil boys’ and girls’ under-14, Guyoil under-18 school league and KFC International Goodwill Schools’ Championship.
Kaieteur News
Sunday March 28, 2021
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GFF TD Ian Greenwood delves into plans for the development of the game A solid and consistent programme of development is the focus of the GFF’s forward thrust. Youth players on duty with the SMNT at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers in the Dominican Republic. (Franklin Wilson photo)
By Franklin Wilson in the Dominican Republic, compliments of Secure Innovations & Concepts, Industrial Safety Supplies Inc., Fazia’s Motor Spares and GFF
A
s the future of G u y a n a ’s f o o t b a l l continues on a new pathway to development where there’s deliberate efforts to put in place the relevant infrastructure at every level on and off the field of play, Technical Director of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Ian Greenwood who has been tasked with the responsibility of on-field development apart from others, continues to share with Kaieteur Sport and its readers the plans he has in place to achieve the aforementioned. Last week, Kaieteur
Sport carried an article headlined, “Clear player pathw ay for domes tic players on track for sustainable national team programme – TD Greenwood”, in which article, information on efforts to bridge the gap between local and overseas players and to increase the local player base on national teams and the programmes put (and being) in place to achieve same, were shared. Greenwood also shared the GFF’s performance targets for the SMNT Head Coach, Márcio Máximo (2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar – Qualifiers and 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup). Today, we expand on that conversation and hear Greenwood’s views on the next steps for the nation’s football development, as follows: To continue to drive
football development in Guyana the next steps consistent of these three vital components:1. MFAP2.GFF Club Charter – accreditation programme 3.Sustainable and Consistent Competitions Calendar. Two major football development programmes were announced in full at the 2020 GFF Congress (MFAP, Club Charter). Club Charter: The GFF Club Charter Programme is the GFF’s accreditation scheme open to all Regional Associations clubs. It aims to raise standards in the game through supporting the development of clubs and leagues. It also recognises and rewards commitment, quality, and achievement. Club Charter Aims:* To drive club development and improve club structure at the Regional Association Level* To provide material
WCC endorses Sanasie/Hope on CWI to adhere Articles of Association for CWI leadership to- calls
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h e Wa k e n a a m C r i c k e t Committee has thrown it full support behind Anand Sanasie and Calvin Hope for the President and Vice President respectively of the Cricket West Indies. Guyanese Sanasie and Barbadian Hope will be looking to unseat the incumbent Ricky Skerritt and Dr. Kishore Shallow at today’s AGM. Sanasie is the current Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board while Hope is the Vice President of the Barbados Cricket Association. Speaking with Kaieteur Sport, Secretary of the WCC, Nazeer Mohamed said Sanasie leadership qualities
have produced favourable results with Guyana winning the first class franchise and Regional U19 tournaments for five consecutive years. Mohamed stated that Sanasie’s experience as a cricket administrator should be fully utilised at the CWI level since his expertise can lead to the upward mobility of the game in the region. “ Wi t h S a n a s i e a s Secretary of the GCB, Guyana now has an established academy where players are being given a decent chance to hone their skills. We have seen the emergence of Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul, Captain and Vice Captain respectively of the victorious 2016 West Indies U19 team,
Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford and Kevin Sinclair,” Mohamed added. “We have also seen the birth of a local franchise league and the inter-county competitions now include a rest team. So more players are being given opportunities to showcase their talent and stake claims for selection on the national teams.” Mohamed who is an executive on the Essequibo Cricket Board is calling on the CWI to adhere to the articles of Association. It is understood that the GCB president Fizul Bacchus wrote to the CWI Corporate Secretary requesting that CWI auditors put systems in place for secret ballot.
Ian Greenwood - GFF TD on a mission to set the game on a solid foundation. (Franklin Wilson photo) support to clubs to support GFF Strategic Goals* To ensure qualified technical staff are working with our players at the appropriate level.* To support GFF application and acceptance into the Concacaf Coaching Convention. Greenwood elaborates: ‘There are currently three categories in the first roll-out of the scheme. Regional Association clubs can apply to be accredited as either a category one, two or three club, each category is clearly defined upon the number of male & females senior and youth teams it has in place. There are also clear staffing guidelines covering technical, medical and operational requirements at each level. In 2021 when we can re-start football at the regional level there will be massive amounts of material support available to clubs who work towards the standards set out in the Club Charter document. There is no closing date for applications to the scheme, and through our Regional Associations we would be providing guidance and assistance throughout the application and implementation process.’ M-FAP Programme: “M-FAP is a watershed moment for the development of football in Guyana and for the empowerment of our
entire membership – it has the potential to transform the game forever. Members now can apply for funding from a ground-breaking initiative that mirrors FIFA’s own global funding mechanism”. Under M-FAP, members of the GFF can access financial support in four key areas: administration and operations, equipment and materials, competitions and technical development, and infrastructure. The aim of the initiative is to democratise funding from the FIFA Forward programme and to give members access to greater financial support, while retaining the power to tailor that support to their own specific needs. GFF President Wayne Forde also weighed in on the historic M-FAP initiative: “In order to be a part of this pioneering funding programme, all members must adhere to strict rules and regulations to ensure the effective and efficient use of funds,” Forde said. “This will be closely monitored by the GFF throughout as part of our efforts to enhance the good governance of football around the country.” Greenwood concluded by elaborating on ‘Sustainable and Consistent Competitions’:‘Once we are in position to safely return to football at the regional association level with the
approval from the National Covid-19 Task-force we will be looking to aggressively implement competitions across the key development age groups in both genders. As a federation we have seen tremendous progress with all our national teams, our U-17 and U-20 Women’s teams are clear examples of that. The men’s national team programme successes have been well documented with the Soualiga Cup Championship in 2017 and the historic qualification to the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2019. However, we are very conscious to the fact that sustainable competitions both at the regional and national levels are vital if we are to continue producing talented players, coaches, referees, and administrators. With the combination of the M-FAP funding and the GFF Club Charter accreditation scheme we are confident that a sustainable domestic competition calendar at the key development age groups can be achieved. The GFF is actively looking to recruit a proactive Competitions Director to drive and be accountable for the implementation of our Competition Calendar. To implement a robust talent development programme we need a vibrant and consistent approach to competition.’
Kaieteur News
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Sunday March 28, 2021
Haniff, Dr. Deo claim Assuria three-hole golf titles The Assuria General Insurance Inaugural 3-Hole Golf tournament came to a conclusion on Saturday last after being forced into extra day’s play due to weather and extraordinary response by more than 200 persons who participated over the 5 days of activities (spread out to maintain covid-19 guidelines compliance) causing a delay in tabulating the final results due to the high turnout. With lots of trophies, Hole in One and Nearest to Pin prizes provided by Assuria, Copa Airlines and GTT, and with great food, music and cool evening breeze, a good time was enjoyed by all under the floodlights. The first of its kind tournament ended with Richard Hanif taking top p l a c e i n t h e M e n ’s professional category away from Captain Chen Deo. Dr. Joaan Deo won the women’s professional category over n i n e - t i m e w o m e n ’s Champion Christine S u k h r a m . T h e m e n ’s Amateur division was won by Laurent with second place going to Colin France. The Women’s Amateur division was highly competitive and resulted in a first place tie between Charlise Adams and Serah Singh, with strong showing from Aleiya Mohammed and Fiona Sooklall, who represented the sponsor well. The Under21 category was won by Ahesh Shivraj
The respective winners with their prizes. with second place going to Mohan Siwacharan. In the Under12 division, Cummings emerged as the winner amidst competition from the other junior players. During the awards ceremony, GM Yogindra Arjune thanked the Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy for the role they’re playing in opening the sport to so many new players, “I also want to again thank past President/Prime Minister Sam Hinds for not only opening the tournament but actually participating and performing well. My special thanks to Aleem Hussain for a wonderful job as always in delivering a fantastic event with so many new players.” Arjune went on to say that the game is now at a whole new level under the guidance of Hussain who has
taken a different approach to teaching “it’s now fun to play Golf as demonstrated by the hundreds of women and children who are now involved.” Mr. Hinds was presented with a special gift as a thank you from the tournament organizers, “I have discovered a new passion, walking with a purpose, and my good friend Aleem is responsible for making me enjoy the game in a manner that is fun!”, said the soon to be appointed Ambassador to the United States. Hussain reiterated that Golf will soon rival the other top recognized sports in Guyana and that the 3-Hole model and mini golf course design will revolutionize the game “no-one, especially our women and children who want to exercise and have fun, especially in today’s
world, have 5 hours to play in the hot sun. This is like the 20/20 cricket version of Golf and we are creating a style of the game that suits our climate, people and their desire for a quick, fun
club’s participation possible, it reached out to sponsors, two of which willingly came on board so far. They are: Aubrey David of SD&L Certified Accountancy of St. Ann Street, New Amsterdam and Syeed Mobarakali of Homeline Furnishing, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, both in the county of Berbice. Both companies expressed delight to be part of a Cricket Club with such a rich history in such a short time. The club over the years produced many West Indies, National and Berbice junior cricketers and the second International Cricketer from the East Canje area, Shimron Hetmyer.
The executive met recently and named a strong team as listed below: 1. Shimron Hetmyer 2. Vishal Mahabir 3. Alex Algoo 4. Ricardo Ramdeholl 5. Trevon Stanislaus 6. Sean Hetmyer 7. Suresh Dhanai 8. Linden Austin 9. Kassim Khan 10. Carl Gilgeous 11. Amir Khan 12. Devindra Ramotar 13. Mortimer Fraser 14. Jarron France 15. Jermin Henry 16. Ishwar Singh Coach/player: Balram Samaroo Manager: Anil Beharry
schools already participating in the sport, it is almost certain that more people will be attracted to the game and the goal of 5,000 new players in a single year realized and even surpassed.
Two Guyanese boxers for Arab Kickboxing The FIBA Championship belt
Young Warriors Cricket Club to participate in Speakers National T20 Cup - Attracts sponsorship The Young Warriors Cricket Club, the home of West Indies young batting sensation, Shimron Hetmyer is all set to participate in the inaugural Speakers National T20 Cup. The tournament is organized by the Everest Cricket Club in collaboration with the Guyana Cricket Board. The Cumberland, East Canje based YWCC welcomes the initiative and is eager to showcase the talent of their players. The club won the first ever National T20 tournament in 2006, sponsored then by Shapoorji Palonji, pocketing one million dollars. In an effort to make the
result.” With the Nexgen Golf Academy located in the heart of the city and a challenging course under construction on the West Coast (designed by Hussain), along with 42
Umisha Parasram
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wo fighters from the Kyokushinkai Martial Arts Academy in Enmore and Wales will be representing Guyana at the first Russian Grand Prix of Arab Boxing that is slated to be contested next month in Moscow at the O l y m p i c Vi l l a g e i n Novogorsk, according to Grandmaster Dr. Nazim Yassim.
Dr. Yassim, who is also a founding member of the Kyokushinkai Martial Arts Academy, divulged that the tournament will be contest from April 19 to May 1, and he is encouraging his fighters to go out there and make the nation proud. The tournament is a kickboxing event and Grandmaster Yassim, who is a 7th Dan Black Belt, is confident that his fighters will have no difficulty competing because of the fact that at the Kyokushinkai dojo, they practice full contact Karate. The fighters that will be participating in the tournament for Guyana are 25 year-old Tadious Edun in the Heavyweight class and
Tadious Edun 25 year-old Umisha Parasram in the Lightweight class. The fighters will be vying for the FIBA Championship belts in their respective classes. The tournament is expected to be well attended with many fighters with representatives from almost all of Africa and European states also slated to be part of the action.
Kaieteur News
Sunday March 28, 2021
Devin Permaul shares his experience at Pan Am Championships Devin Permaul shooting at the Pan Am Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.
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rchery Guyana is extremely proud of our lone Guyanese A r c h e r i n M o n t e r r e y, Mexico, flying our Golden Arrowhead, Devin Permaul. Secretary-General of Archery Guyana, Mrs. Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon has shared with pride the reports she received so far from colleagues across the Americas commenting positively on our Guyanese representative. A release from Archery Guyana informed, ‘Devin Permaul is there wearing so many caps alone in Mexico…. An athlete, a d m i n i s t r a t o r, c o a c h , motivator, PR person etc…. but we managed to have a quiet moment with Devin virtually and he was able to share with us his thoughts and views so far. “A lot has been put into this trip, due to the current s itu at io n o f C o v i d - 1 9 restricting most travel. The Pan Am Championship was cancelled in the previous year but with safety protocols in place, they were able to proceed with the tournament this year. It’s been hard finding a reason to shoot with the idea the Olympics and other tournaments may have been cancelled, but this was my motivation to get back to it.
The tournament started with the Qualification round where after 72 arrows a 602 was shot. That score put me in a position of 30th.” “It’s frustrating to shoot this score when I am capable of 640 -650’s outdoors. This is the most nervous I’ve ever felt in a competition but all I can do now is continue forward.” The way this tournament is formatted, after you shoot qualifications there are two eliminations. A regular elimination bracket and one for the Olympic quota spot. The following day, regular eliminations were held. In the 1/24 bracket, I was up against Chile ranked #35 Mesa Rivas Daniel and won 6-2. Proceeding to the next bracket of 1/16, I was up against #3 Arcila Santiago. “I felt good going into this round as the nerves were starting to settle. We were neck and neck at 4-4 but #3 prevailed and pulled ahead at the end with a perfect 30. My confidence was definitely up after that competition knowing I could put up a fight.” Friday the 26th was the elimination for the Olympic qualifier. He was up against #8 from Chile. That was the reason why most of the athletes participated in this tournament and Devin hoped to be one of those hopefuls.
The night before, as we spoke, Devin was sitting there with a stretch band looking into the mirror to make sure he has his form down so as to shoot well. According to Devin, “Confidence plays such a huge role in this sport, and I want to be sure that I am ready”. Devin noted despite his loss: “It finally felt like I was shooting scores what I was capable of, the only regret being not able to do that in the qualification and create a more favourable bracket. This moment has been ingrained into myself and I never want to feel this way again. It has emboldened me to do better. Viva la France! (The last tournament to earn a spot).”
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